Dried Berries and White Chocolate Soft Muffin Cookies
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These Dried Berries and White Chocolate Soft Muffin Cookies are easy to make, have a lovely soft cake-like and chewy texture, and are packed with sweetened dried blueberries and cranberries and white chocolate chips. They’re a delicious treat that can be made and enjoyed anytime of the year and are fantastic for holiday gatherings!
Inspired by Merba Soft Blueberry Muffin Cookies, these cookies are wonderfully soft and cake-like with a chewy texture. They’re also deliciously sweet with white chocolate chips, and have a slight hint of tang from the dried blueberries and cranberries.
They’re not tiny cookies, so you’ll be satisfied with just one. Though, no one will hold it against you if you wolf down two or three. 😉
Bonus? They can be made year-round thanks to the convenience of using dried berries instead of fresh. They’re also great for July 4th weekend with their red, white and blue themed mix-ins!
Serve them up at your next holiday gathering and they’re guaranteed to leave the plate empty in no time!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make. The dough is easy and straightforward to make even if there is a needed chill time.
- Convenient. It’s made with everyday ingredients or ingredients that are easily accessible in your regular supermarket.
- Scalable. You can easily make a double batch by simply doubling all the ingredients by using the ‘2x’ button in the recipe card.
- AMAZING texture! Thanks to Greek yogurt and corn starch, these cookies are nice and soft, and have a cake-like texture.
- Delicious! They’re the perfect sweet treat to share with your loved ones at your next holiday party or gathering!
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: I use unbleached white all-purpose flour.
- Corn Starch: To help make the cookies chewy, and soft and cake-like without using any cake flour.
- Unsalted Butter: Be sure to take it out from the fridge before hand so that it is at room temperature and softened.
- Egg: Use a standard large sized egg (56–60 grams), and make sure it is at room temperature.
- Greek Yogurt: Use full-fat Greek yogurt for best texture.
- Sweetened Dried Cranberries & Blueberries: If you’d like to switch up the flavor, dried raspberries would also taste great!
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
How to Make Berries and White Chocolate Soft Muffin Cookies
1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until combined well.
2. Cream the butter and sugars. In a separate bowl, use either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt until evenly combined.
4. Sift in dry ingredients. Use a fine mesh strainer to sift and mix until everything is just combined.
5. Fold in mix-ins. Fold in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and dried blueberries.
6. Chill. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. You can even make the dough ahead and chill for up to two days. (See ‘Notes’ section in the recipe card below for make ahead instructions.)
7. Scoop, shape, and bake. Line two baking trays with silicone baking mats (highly recommended) or parchment paper. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop the dough using a trigger release scooper (2 tablespoons for medium sized cookies, and 2.5 to 3 tablespoons for medium-large cookies) and gently roll into balls.
Place the dough balls on the prepared baking trays, leaving 3-inch space between each dough ball. Bake one tray at a time in a preheated oven at 175°C/350°F for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
8. Cool. Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies rest for 5-10 minutes. Don’t worry if they still look slightly uncooked and wet – they will firm up as they cool. Then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Then enjoy!! With a tall glass of milk or a cup of coffee if you like. 😋
Or you can store the cookies in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area for a few days.
Full detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook’s Tips
- Shape and arrange the dough balls quickly on the baking tray. The dough will be wet and sticky so work as fast as you possibly can while it’s still cold.
- Use a digital kitchen scale. Although I have provided both weight and US cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing the ingredients – especially the flour – for any baking recipes to avoid any discrepancies in the final results.
- Do not overmix. Overmixing the dough can cause more air to get trapped in it and more gluten to form. This will result in a tougher and denser cookie texture, not a cake-like soft muffin cookie.
FAQs
I haven’t tested making this recipe using fresh berries, but I believe you can. Use the same recommended amounts in cup measurements (not weight) for the dried blueberries and cranberries. Or you can use 2/3 cup fresh blueberries if you like and leave out the cranberries. Be careful when mixing the blueberries into the dough as they will “bleed” if they break and you’ll have purple cookies. It’s okay if they break a little, but try your best to keep them in tact when incorporating with the cookie dough. When they are baked, they will burst due to the heat and leave beautiful purple streaks on each cookie.
Corn starch and Greek yogurt make these cookies incredibly soft and cake-like without having to use any cake flour like I have done in these Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Pecan Cookies.
These soft muffin cookies can last in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area for 3-4 days.
More Cookies & Holiday Sweet Treats
- Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Pecan Cookies
- Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookie Cake
- Cranberry Pecan Biscotti
- Dark and White Chocolate Bark with Mixed Fruits & Nuts
- Salted Caramel Apple Crumble (with Baileys Salted Caramel!)
- Almond Meal Banana Cake
- Or browse the entire Desserts recipe collection.
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PrintDried Berries and White Chocolate Soft Muffin Cookies
Packed with dried blueberries and cranberries and white chocolate chips, these soft cake-like cookies are a delicious holiday treat!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 36 minutes
- Yield: 11 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 180 grams / 1 & 1/2 cups Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
- 2 TSP Corn Starch
- 1 TSP Baking Powder
- ¼ TSP Fine Sea Salt
- 100 grams / ½ cup Unsalted Butter, softened and at room temperature
- 100 grams / ½ cup granulated White Sugar
- 70 grams / 1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 large Egg (56–60 grams), at room temperature
- 1 & 1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract
- 70 grams / ¼ cup Greek Yogurt
- 90 grams / ½ cup White Chocolate Chips
- 80 grams / 1/3 cup Sweetened Dried Cranberries
- 60 grams / 1/3 cup Sweetened Dried Blueberries
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder, and fine sea salt until combined well. Set aside.
- Cream: Add the unsalted butter, granulated white sugar, and light brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Cream using and electric hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) on medium-high speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is light and fluffy – about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the wet ingredients: Add the egg, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt and continue beating on medium speed until evenly combined – about 30-45 seconds.
- Sift in dry ingredients: Using a fine mesh strainer, sift in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until everything is just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in mix-ins: Fold in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and dried blueberries using a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours and up to 2 days (see notes*).
- Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F. Line two baking trays with silicone baking mats or parchment paper/nonstick cooking paper.
- Scoop and shape: Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop the dough using a trigger release scooper (2 tablespoons for medium sized cookies, and 2.5 to 3 tablespoons for medium-large cookies) and gently roll into balls. The dough will be wet and sticky so work quickly. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking trays, leaving 3-inch space between each dough ball.
- Bake: Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
- Cool: Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5-10 minutes in the pan. They will still look slightly uncooked and wet but will firm up as they cool. Then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Enjoy now, or store in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area for 3-4 days.
Notes
- Greek yogurt. Use full-fat Greek yogurt for the best texture. Low fat or non-fat won’t yield the same texture and may cause the cookies to be flatter and spread wider when baked.
- Use a digital kitchen scale. Although I have provided both weight and US cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing the ingredients – especially the flour – for any baking recipes to avoid any discrepancies in the final results.
- Be careful not to overmix the cookie dough. Overmixing the dough can cause more air to get trapped in it and more gluten to form. This will result in a tougher and denser cookie texture, not a cake-like soft muffin cookie.
- Make ahead. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Then wrap tightly in cling wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Remove from the fridge when ready to bake and proceed with steps 6-9 as indicated. I have not tried freezing the cookie dough, and cannot advise if it is possible to do so without further testing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 29.5g
- Sodium: 59.7mg
- Fat: 10.7g
- Saturated Fat: 6.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 44.3g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 3.6g
- Cholesterol: 37.3mg
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