Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Published on December 22, 2025
Quick Summary
These cranberry white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with festive flavor. Sweet white chocolate, buttery macadamia nuts, and tart dried cranberries create the perfect holiday twist on a classic cookie. They’re easy to make, beautiful for cookie platters, and perfect for Christmas baking, gifting, and entertaining.
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Pin ItA Festive Holiday Cookie You’ll Want to Bake Every Year
If you’re looking for a cookie that feels a little extra special during the holidays, these cranberry white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are it. They have everything I love in a holiday cookie, soft centers, slightly crisp edges, and plenty of mix-ins in every bite.
If you love a classic cookie, you’ll recognize the flavor combination right away. I’ve been making my classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies for years, and they’re always a reader favorite. For the holidays, I decided to give them a festive twist by adding dried cranberries. The cranberries add a pop of color and a subtle tartness that pairs perfectly with the sweet white chocolate and buttery macadamia nuts.
I love having a few standout cookies in my Christmas cookie baking rotation, and these always make the list. They’re easy enough to bake on a busy December afternoon, but impressive enough to share with friends, neighbors, or add to a holiday dessert spread. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top takes them over the top and makes all the flavors shine…and once you try them, you’ll want to make them every holiday season.
Ingredients (with Helpful Notes)
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to spoon and level the flour so the cookies stay soft and tender, not dense.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Using both helps create cookies that are chewy with just enough lift.
- Kosher salt: Enhances all of the sweet flavors and balances the white chocolate.
- Unsalted butter: Use butter that’s cool room temperature, not too soft.
- Light brown sugar: Adds moisture and chewiness with a subtle caramel flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Helps the cookies spread just enough and gives slightly crisp edges.
- Eggs: Always use large eggs when baking.
- Pure vanilla extract: Adds warmth and depth to the cookie dough.
- White chocolate chips: Sweet, creamy, and perfect with the cranberries. I like to use Guittard or Ghirardelli.
- Macadamia nuts: Roughly chopped so you get buttery crunch in every bite.
- Dried cranberries: Bring tartness, texture, and festive holiday color.
- Flaky sea salt: A finishing touch that makes these cookies irresistible.
Tips for Making the Best Cookies
- Roughly chop the macadamia nuts: You want a mix of larger chunks and smaller pieces so every bite has buttery crunch without overwhelming the cookie. Smaller pieces also help distribute the flavor throughout the dough.
- Use fresh, plump dried cranberries: If your cranberries are a little dried out, soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes to help rehydrate them. Drain well and pat dry before adding to the cookie dough so they stay soft and chewy in the baked cookies.
- Don’t overmix the dough once you add the dry ingredients, mix just until combined for soft cookies.
- Check the cookies early. They should look slightly underbaked in the centers when you pull them from the oven.
- Use a cookie scoop to keep the cookies uniform in size so they bake evenly.
- Let them cool slightly on the pan before transferring so they set up without breaking.
- Press extra mix-ins on top while the cookies are warm for bakery-style looks and extra flavor.
How to Store the Cookies
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze cookie dough: Scoop dough into balls and freeze. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time
- Freeze baked cookies: Once completely cooled, freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and dried cranberries.
- Form the cookie dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart.
- Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Check early to make sure you don’t over bake.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt. While the cookies are still warm, you can gently press extra white chocolate chips, nuts, and dried cranberries on top to make them extra pretty. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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More Cookie Recipes For You To Try
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Cookies
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
Want even more cookie inspiration? Check out all of my cookie recipes and grab a copy of my cookie cookbook, Let’s Eat Cookies.
