These cranberry cookies are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced. They're perfect for the holiday season, but they're so delicious that I make them year-round!
These cranberry cookies are a more festive version of my favorite thing to bake: chocolate chip cookies! With Christmas just one week away, I wanted to share a fun holiday cookie recipe, but I wasn’t in the mood for sugar cookies or gingerbread. Nope, true to form, I wanted soft, chewy cookies that were generously studded with chocolate chips. I didn’t think that classic chocolate chip cookies really counted as a holiday treat, so I jazzed them up to make these cranberry cookies instead.
I have to say, I’m thrilled with how they came out! I spiced them with cinnamon for warm, cozy flavor. And in addition to the cranberries, I tossed in pistachios to create a festive mix of red and green. They’re sweet, nutty, and chocolatey, with a little tang from the cranberries. In short, they’re everything I crave in a sweet treat. I think you’ll love them too!
Cranberry Cookies Recipe Ingredients
Oh, and did I mention? These cranberry cookies are totally vegan. I use flaxseed instead of eggs and sub coconut oil for butter. If you’re skeptical, trust me here. These guys are just as sweet, soft, and satisfying as any traditional cookies. Care to find out for yourself? Here’s what else you’ll need to make them:
- All-purpose flour and almond flour – I LOVE using this combination in baking, as it yields really soft, moist baked goods. You’ll find it in my vegan sugar cookies, banana bread, and blueberry muffins too!
- Baking soda – It helps them puff up in the oven.
- Cinnamon – Who doesn’t love cinnamon in a holiday treat? It gives these cookies a warm, festive flavor.
- Cane sugar and brown sugar – They sweeten the cookies and help create their soft, chewy texture.
- Almond milk – I just add a splash for extra moisture. Cow’s milk or my homemade oat milk would work here too!
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- Chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and pistachios – The mix-ins! Their varied colors, textures, and tastes make these cookies festive and fun to eat.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Cranberry Cookies
You don’t need to chill the dough in this cranberry cookie recipe (phew, am I right?!), so it’s fairly quick to make. Here’s how it goes:
First, combine the flaxseed with water in the bowl of stand mixer. Set it aside to thicken. In the meantime, whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.
Then, you’ll return to the stand mixer. Add the remaining wet ingredients, and mix on high until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the mixer, mixing on low after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
When a cohesive dough forms, add the mix-ins, and fold them in with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
Next, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Finally, bake! Transfer the baking sheet to a 350° oven, and bake until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
That’s it!
Cranberry Cookies Variations
I love these cranberry cookies as they are, but feel free to change them up if you’d like. If you’re craving a traditional cranberry white chocolate chip cookie, swap white chocolate for the chocolate chips and replace the pistachios with macadamia nuts. Chopped pecans would be fantastic here too.
More Favorite Holiday Treats
If you love these cranberry cookies, try one of these delicious treats next:
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Lemon Cookies
- Tahini Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Healthy Hot Chocolate
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Cranberry Cookies
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup soft coconut oil
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips*
- ⅓ cup chopped pistachios
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bottom of a stand mixer's bowl, combine the flaxseed and water. Whisk (by hand) and set aside to thicken for 5 minutes and whisk again.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- To the mixer’s bowl, add the coconut oil, cane sugar, brown sugar, almond milk and vanilla. Mix on high until well combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips, cranberries, pistachios.
- Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet. Bake 12-13 minutes or until lightly golden brown. (If using a 1-inch scoop, bake 10 minutes). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.
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