Gluten-free White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (Sugar-free)

These Gluten-Free White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie when you’re avoiding regular flour and refined sugar. They’re sweetened with coconut sugar and a bit of low-carb sweetener and have a chewy center, light crisp edges, and buttery vanilla flavor without the blood-sugar bomb.

That plus tart-sweet dried cranberries, creamy white chocolate, and a little orange zest make them taste like Christmas in cookie form.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Holiday flavor without the fuss: White chocolate, tart cranberries, and a little orange zest give you full Christmas-cookie energy in a simple recipe.
• Lower Carb Load: I’ve combined lower glycemic coconut sugar with allulose for a lower glycemic hit than most cookies. And I’ve got lots of tips so you can adjust the sweeteners to meet your needs.
• Diet-flexible for real families: Need gluten-free? Sugar-free? Dairy-free or egg-free? This recipe gives you clear swaps so almost everyone can have a cookie that actually works for them.
• Make-ahead friendly: Both doughs chill well, and the dough freezes beautifully, so you can stock the freezer and pull out dough for “fresh-baked” cookies all year round.
• Gourmet-level Variations: For those times when you want to kick up your cookie game a notch or two, you’ll love these!

Ingredients

• butter: Vegan butter or ghee should work as well. Coconut oil could be substituted, but all of these will have a slightly different result.
• sweeteners: I combined coconut sugar and allulose to cut carbs while keeping the “real cookie” feel. If swapping out the coconut sugar, keep in mind it’s a little less sweet than sugar, so you might need more or less, depending on what you choose. Swap out the allulose for coconut sugar and add a bit more if you’d like. If you’d like to try a fully sugar-free version, you can replace the coconut sugar with a 1:1 granulated allulose or monk fruit/allulose blend. Start with the same volume (1 cup) and add a pinch of stevia extract if you want more sweetness. Sugar-free sweeteners don’t always brown or spread like sugar, so the cookies may bake up a bit softer and paler. Be sure to chill the dough thoroughly and don’t overbake. You could also swap the allulose for 1/8 teaspoon stevia extract, but I haven’t tried that.
• egg: room temperature is best, but chilled works too.
• vanilla extract: don’t skip and definitely don’t use artificial.
• orange zest: optional but yields a great flavor addition.
• milk or cream: just a tad. Dairy-free milk will work as well.
• gluten-free all-purpose flour blend: Whatever one you like. If it doesn’t have xanthan gum, use my substitutions.
• salt
• baking soda
• ground cinnamon: Optional but another great addition.
• dried cranberries: Use juice-sweetened, if possible, to avoid the extra sugar. To avoid the added carbs, use unsweetened, but they’ll be much more tart.
• white chocolate chips or chunks: I like using sugar-free white chocolate chips. Homemade Dairy-free White Chocolate can be tricky to work with in cookies, but feel free to give it a run.

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the wet ingredients until well combined.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla until fully combined. Mix in the orange zest.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Add milk or cream, as needed.
5. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.
6. Cover and chill.
7. Preheat the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment.
8. Scoop dough, place on baking sheets, and bake.

Fun Fact About White Chocolate

Did you know? White chocolate isn’t technically chocolate at all—it’s cocoa butter, milk solids, and sweetener. Its creamy sweetness plays very well with sharp, tart cranberries.

Recipe Notes and Substitutions

• If your gluten-free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, whisk 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (or an alternative) into the dry ingredients.
• Chilling is critical with gluten-free dough because it gives the flours time to hydrate; if you skip the chill, the cookies may spread too much and turn gritty.
• Lightly chopping the dried cranberries keeps the distribution even so you don’t get big tough chunks.
• If your kitchen is warm, keep the scooped dough in the fridge between batches.
• For bakery-style “puddles” of melty white chocolate, press a few extra chips or chunks onto the tops of the dough balls right before baking.
• Adjust bake time by 1–2 minutes depending on how soft or crisp you want them, however, this recipe will likely not yield a very crispy cookie.
• The cookies should look just set and slightly underbaked in the center when you pull them from the oven; they’ll firm up as they cool. For thicker cookies, don’t flatten the dough balls; for thinner, gently press the tops before baking.

Variations

• Pistachio Cranberry – Add 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios. Looks gorgeous and tastes oh so fancy.
• Brown Butter Version – Brown the butter first, chill it until just solid, then cream as usual for a deep, nutty flavor.
• Orange-Forward – Add 1/2 tsp orange extract and a little extra zest for a stronger citrus vibe.
• All of the Above – Combine the above add-ins for an amazing gourmet cookie everyone will rave about
• Chocolate Chip Version – Swap out the white chocolate chips with sugar-free chocolate chips.
• Extra Chewy – Add an extra tablespoon of the brown sugar sweetener and remove from the oven a minute earlier.

Xanthan Gum Alternatives

If you don’t have or don’t tolerate or want to use xanthan gum, here are some options for you to try.

• If you prefer guar gum to xanthan, you can substitute 1.5 to 2 times the guar gum for xanthan gum.
• This is a bit tricky, but you can replace xanthan gum with either ground flax or chia and a little water. The results won’t be the same, but it’s an option. Place the same amount of ground chia or flax as xanthan gum in a small bowl, add three times the water, and let it set before adding it to the batter.
• Gelatin is another option using the same technique as with the flax/chia option
• Tapioca starch has been known to work as well for some people.

You could also leave the xanthan gum out, but your cookies won’t be as chewy or hold together as well. I’m working on a better option; stay tuned by subscribing here to hear about it first!

Wet Ingredients

• Wet ingredients
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 115 grams
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar 100 grams
• 1/2 cup allulose or other low-carb sweetener
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoons orange zest finely grated
• 1-2 teaspoons milk or cream if needed to bring dough together. Dairy-free option works fine.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (with xanthan gum) (with xanthan gum. See Recipe Notes / post for alternatives.)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional, but highly recommended)

Mix-ins

• 3/4 -1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks 150 grams
• 3/4 – 1 cup dried cranberries 135 grams, lightly chopped if large

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sweeteners together until light and slightly fluffy, 2–3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.

• Beat in the egg and vanilla until fully combined and glossy, about 1 minute. Mix in the orange zest, if using.

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until no streaks of flour remain. The dough should be thick but not dry. If it looks crumbly or sandy, add up to 1 tablespoon milk or cream, a teaspoon at a time, just until it comes together.

• Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

• Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 45–60 minutes (or up to 24 hours) to hydrate the gluten-free flours and firm up the butter. This prevents spreading and gives better chew.

• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a baking stone.

• Scoop the chilled dough into 1½-tablespoon balls (about a heaping #40 scoop) and arrange them at least 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. For thicker cookies, keep the dough in rough balls; for slightly thinner cookies, press gently to flatten the tops just a bit.

• If possible, bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look just slightly underbaked.

• Remove from the oven and, while the cookies are still hot, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to gently “scoot” each cookie into a perfect circle if you like.

• Let cool on the sheet for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool.

• Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

• If your gluten-free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, whisk 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum into the dry ingredients or use an alternative.
• Chilling is critical with gluten-free dough because it gives the flours time to hydrate; if you skip the chill, the cookies may spread too much and turn gritty.
• Lightly chopping the dried cranberries keeps the distribution even so you don’t get big tough chunks.
• If your kitchen is warm, keep the scooped dough in the fridge between batches.
• For bakery-style puddles of melty white chocolate, press a few extra chips or chunks onto the tops of the dough balls right before baking.
• Adjust bake time by 1–2 minutes depending on how soft or crisp you want them, but this recipe will likely not yield very crisp cookies.
• Sweetener Options: I used a combination of coconut sugar and allulose to minimize carbs while keeping a “real cookie” result as much as possible. You can replace the coconut sugar with a 1:1 brown granulated allulose or monkfruit/allulose blend. Start with 1 cup and add a pinch of pure stevia extract if you want more sweetness. Sugar-free sweeteners don’t brown or spread exactly like sugar, so the cookies may bake up a little softer and paler—chilling the dough well and not overbaking are especially important. Or you can use all coconut sugar and your cookies will be darker than the photos with a bit more of a rustic texture.
  Texture: The cookies should look just set and slightly underbaked in the center when you pull them from the oven; they’ll firm up as they cool. For thicker cookies, don’t flatten the dough balls; for thinner, gently press the tops before baking.
• Dairy-free: Use a vegan butter stick in place of the butter and dairy-free white chocolate chips. Chill the dough well, as plant-based butter tends to be softer.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.