White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

By Becky Jo

Making your baked cookies soft, thick, and chewy has never been easier. Add a touch of cornstarch to your cookie dough and prepared to be amazed. Think about it: often used as a thickening agent, cornstarch gives your gravy, pie fillings, soups, and glazes a more bodied and full texture. The same goes for your cookie dough – cornstarch will help your dough remain more compact during the baking process, leaving the cookies soft, thick, and puffy.

Ingredients

• Directions:
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Details

Adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Preparation

Step 1

Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries. Chill dough (covered) for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Drop balls of dough (1.5 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet OR used a standard-sized cookie scoop. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do NOT cook them longer than 9 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.

*Do not drop dough onto warm cookie sheets. Allow cookie sheets to cool completely between batches.

adapted from The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

RECIPE SOURCE: SALLYSBAKINGADDICTION.COM
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

* Most important about this cookie recipe is the baking time. You MUST watch the cookies closely – I didn’t even leave the kitchen as they baked. Take the cookies out of the oven at a precise 8 or 9 minutes. The cookies will appear soft and undone in the centers, but will eventually firm up as they set. Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet after you remove them from the oven.

Also important in this cookie recipe is the use of dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar. I swear by dark brown sugar in my oatmeal cookies – it gives the cookies a more chewy texture, less crispy texture. Light vs dark brown sugar is mostly interchangeable in dessert recipes. But I find that dark brown sugar gave these cookies a rich aroma and unique depth of flavor.