Step-by-Step Instructions
Start by preheating your oven to 375°F (or to the temperature specified on your cookie mix package—they can vary slightly). While it’s warming, take your softened butter. I can’t stress “softened” enough. It should give easily when poked, not be melted or greasy. I once rushed this with melted butter, and my cookies spread into one giant, thin cookie sheet. Cream the butter with the contents of the snickerdoodle mix pouch (both the flour mix and the cinnamon sugar packet) in your large bowl until it looks like coarse sand. This is your flavor base, and that cinnamon sugar is going to add a wonderful, subtle warmth underneath the other flavors.
Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the sour cream. The dough will be thick and rich—it should pull away from the sides of the bowl. This is when your kitchen starts to smell amazing. Now, for the fun part: gently fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips with a spatula. I like to reserve a small handful of each to press on top of the dough balls before baking; it makes the cookies look bakery-worthy straight from your oven.
Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, drop rounded mounds of dough onto your lined baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. They do puff up! Bake for 10-12 minutes. Here’s my big sensory tip: pull them out when the edges are just set and lightly golden, but the centers still look slightly soft and puffy. They might seem underdone, but I promise they set up perfectly as they cool on the wire rack. Overbaking is the enemy of a soft cookie, and I learned that the hard way with a batch of little cranberry hockey pucks.
Pro Tips for Best Results
First, let’s talk ingredient temperature. I tested this three different ways: with cold butter, melted butter, and properly softened butter. The softened butter creamed with the mix creates tiny air pockets that give the cookie its perfect, tender structure. Take your butter out about an hour before you bake. If you forget, you can gently microwave it in 5-second bursts, but watch it like a hawk. A greasy, partially melted stick will ruin the dough’s texture.
My second tip is all about the fold-in. When you add the cranberries and chips, use a folding motion with your spatula instead of stirring aggressively. Overmixing at this stage can develop the gluten in the mix and lead to tougher cookies. I fold just until I see no more dry streaks, and then I stop. It feels wrong to leave it a little uneven, but it ensures a delicate crumb.
Finally, for a truly professional look, do that extra step I mentioned: after you’ve scooped the dough balls, press 3-4 extra cranberries and white chocolate chips onto the top of each one. They bake right into the surface, making every cookie Instagram-ready. I didn’t do this the first time, and while they tasted incredible, they looked a bit plain. This 30-second trick makes all the difference in presentation.
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