White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

These White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread are melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Full of sweet white chocolate, tart dried cranberries and just a hint of lemon zest, they are beautifully festive for this time of year. If you love those Cranberry Bliss bars from Starbucks, these will remind you of them!

I based this recipe on the Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread by Alison Roman. It’s one of my favourites and really the only other shortbread I make. I used the base recipe for the dough and then subbed in the white chocolate, cranberries and lemon zest for the regular semi-sweet chocolate. 

What you will need to make White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread 

This recipe contains only a few ingredients, most of which you probably already have. Here are the most important ones:

White Chocolate – A bar of good quality white chocolate will be best for these cookies. It will provide the best flavour and I think that the different sized pieces of chopped chocolate look best in this kind of cookie. However, you could definitely use white chocolate chips if you wanted to.

Dried Cranberries – These provide such a pretty pop of colour and of course, a nice tart contrast in flavour to the white chocolate.

Lemon Zest – The addition of lemon zest to these cookies just freshens them up a bit with a hint of citrus! I also think the tiny flecks of yellow in the cookie dough are really pretty.

How to make White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread 

Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on low, add the flour slowly and mix just to combine.

Add the chopped white chocolate, cranberries and lemon zest and mix just to combine. 

Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log shape. Place the logs on separate pieces of plastic wrap and fold the plastic over. Then roll each log so that they are about 2-2 1/2  inches in diameter. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect! Chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Slice each log into ½”-thick rounds. Arrange on prepared baking sheets about 2″ apart. Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to brown, 12–15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Other Holiday cookies to try:

Ginger Molasses Cookies

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Ginger Cookie Sandwiches

Make sure to tag me @cremedelacombe on Instagram and leave a review below if you make these White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread. I love seeing what you bake! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card below.

White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

Recipe by Kelsey LacombeCourse: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

cookies

Prep time

30

minutes

Bake time

15

minutes

Chill time

2

hours

These melt-in-your-mouth shortbread are full of sweet white chocolate and tart dried cranberries. They are perfectly festive for the holiday season!

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chopped white chocolate

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions

• Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• With the mixer on low, add the flour slowly and mix just to combine.
• Add the chopped white chocolate, cranberries and lemon zest and mix just to combine.
• Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log shape. Place the logs on separate pieces of plastic wrap and fold the plastic over. Then roll each log so that they are about 2-2 1/2 inches in diameter. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect! Chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Slice each log into ½”-thick rounds. Arrange on prepared baking sheets about 2″ apart. Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to brown, 12–15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Recipe Video

Notes

• This dough can be made one week in advance and stored in the fridge.