If you love soft cookies with slightly crispy edges, these gluten free white chocolate cranberry cookies with white chocolate and macadamia nuts will become your new favorite fall cookie recipe!

We are finally in my favorite time of year. The leaves are turning colors, the air is cooler, and cranberries are back! I love using these tart little berries in my baking.

I promise you these gluten free white chocolate and cranberry cookies are worth it! If you want to try different cookie recipes, I highly recommend these gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies!

Tried these today. Had to add the 1 tsp xantham gum to the flour recommended because that’s what I had on hand and used the almond meal flour because it was cheaper. Couldn’t wait!!! Had to try them while they were still warm. Del-lish!!! Thank you Sandi!!

Gail S., FB comment

Why these cookies are great:

  1. You can buy Craisin cranberries to enjoy these cookies all year long!
  2. There is a slight crunch to these cranberry and white chocolate cookies, and the macadamia nuts add a hint of nuttiness.
  3. You can substitute all sorts of things like raisins and different nuts and even make them dairy-free. I love when cookie recipes are super versatile.
Gluten Free Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies stacked on top of each other.
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King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs

This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)

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What you need to make these:

  • Gluten free flour blend – I have tested this recipe with two different gluten free flour blends. King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend. This doesn’t mean other brands won’t work, I just haven’t tested them.
  • If your gluten free blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, you will need this, too.
  • Almond flour – I prefer almond flour to almond meal because it is more finely ground. If you can only find almond meal, it is fine to use.
  • Sugar – if you want to keep these lower glycemic, you can use coconut sugar. Note it will change the color of the cookies.
  • Butter – or vegan butter if you are dairy-free.
  • Pure vanilla extract – you can also use vanilla bean paste. I don’t recommend imitation vanilla.
  • Salt and baking powder – I always recommend aluminum-free baking powder because regular baking powder can make your cookies have a slightly bitter taste.
  • Mix-ins: dried cranberries (aka Craisins), macadamia nuts, and white chocolate chips.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions

Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk to blend.

To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon or leveling methods. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale.

  1. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
  2. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.

Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend. I melted the butter slightly to make it soft so that it mixed into the wet ingredients easily.

Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients over the dry ingredients.

Step 4: Add the mix-ins and mix your cookie dough. I recommend letting the dough sit for 5-10 minutes. This will help you eliminate any traces of graininess from the flour.

*Note that you can mix the cookie dough in a standing mixer.

Cranberry cookie dough balls on a baking sheet ready to bake.

Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. You can also make these cranberry white chocolate cookies drop cookie style.

Be sure there are at least two inches between each cookie so they don’t spread into each other.

Step 6: Bake at 350º F for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and move to a cooling rack.

Variations:

Macadamia nuts add a tropical crunch to these cookies. I know macadamia nuts can get expensive, so here are some good substitutes:

  • Pecans
  • Almond Slivers
  • Walnuts
  • Pistachios

Storage:

These cookies will be kept in an air-tight container for up to 4 days or in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Pro Tips and Recipe FAQ:

Can you make these cranberry cookies dairy-free?

These cookies are easy to make dairy-free by substituting vegan butter for regular butter.

Can you make these cranberry white chocolate cookies nut-free?

You can definitely make this nut-free with some tweaking. The first and most obvious way is to omit the macadamia nuts. For the cookie dough, omit the almond flour and add ¾ cup gluten free flour blend. Note, if you use a starchy gluten free flour blend, you may need to adjust this amount slightly so your cookies don’t turn out dry.

Can you use fresh cranberries?

You could use fresh cranberries, but the cookies will turn out much softer. Fresh cranberries are a lot more sour, so you must adjust your sugar accordingly. I haven’t tested real cranberries in this recipe, so I cannot say how much additional sugar.

Can you freeze these cookies?

You can easily freeze the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe zipper bag.

Can you refrigerate the cookie dough to make this more slice-and-bake style?

Yes, you can quickly refrigerate this gluten free cookie dough. To make these slices and bake, place the cookie dough onto a piece of wax paper. Shape the dough into a log and roll the wax paper around it. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Gluten Free Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookie with a hand holding it up. A bite was taken out of the cookie

If you love baking with fresh cranberries, try these gluten free cranberry shortbread bars! While visiting, you may like one of these delicious gluten free cookie recipes, too!

More gluten free cranberry recipes:

Gluten Free Cranberry Macadamia White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sandi Gaertner
A very easy gluten free cranberry cookies recipe that is loaded with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
4.79 from 32 votes
gluten free allergy icon
soy free allergy icon
vegetarian icon
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes
Course Gluten Free Cookies and Bar Recipes, Gluten Free Dessert Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 145 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup almond flour *see note
  • ¾ cup gluten free flour blend *see note
  • ¾ cup sugar *see note
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • dash salt
  • ¼ cup white chocolate chips
  • cup macadamia nuts chopped
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F degrees.
  • In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients. Whisk to blend.
  • In a small bowl, add all wet ingredients. Whisk to blend.
  • Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Add your mix-ins.
  • Mix well.
  • Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet.
  • Bake 8 minutes until done.
  • Remove from the oven and put cookies onto a cooling rack.

Video

Notes

  1. You can use almond flour, which is more finely ground, or almond meal.
  2. I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend in this recipe. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
  3. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
  4. To make this lower glycemic, you can substitute coconut sugar for the regular sugar.
  5. To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
  6. These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 145kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 11mgPotassium: 51mgFiber: 2gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 30IUCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg
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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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