Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
These Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies are perfect for Christmas!!! We love pistachios! The color combo of this cookie with cranberries and pistachios is perfect for the upcoming holidays. The two work perfectly with a shortbread cookie… so check out these delicious Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: Shortbread dough is simple and forgiving, making it great for bakers of all levels.
- Festive Colors: The cranberries and pistachios create a natural holiday color palette.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The dough can be made in advance and baked fresh when needed.
Chopping the Pistachios and Cranberries
Such a beautiful color combo! You’ll start by chopping these down in your food processor. This helps to give the cookies such great texture. I do them separately, one at a time.
Process Together Your Dry Ingredients.
After you’ve pulsed the cranberries and pistachios, put them aside for the dry ingredients. Add your flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor and pulse just a couple of times until it comes together.
Add the Cold Butter
Then you will add the chunks of butter to the food processor with the flour mixture still in it. Pulse until it becomes a crumbly mixture.
Almond Extract and Orange Juice
Drizzle in the almond extract and the orange juice into the food processor. Give it a couple more pulses to mix those ingredients in.
Adding the Cranberries and Pistachios
After all your ingredients have been through the food processors it’s time to finish off the shortbread cookies.
Transfer the ingredients in the food processor to a large bowl. Add the cranberries and pistachios and fold them in until they are evenly distributed.
Chilling the Cookie Dough
You’ll dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead it into a log. Then wrap them in plastic wrap and let them chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Preheat The Oven
When you are ready to make your cookies you’ll want to preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you will prep your baking sheet with parchment paper. Next, unwrap the dough log and slice your cookie dough 1/4″ thick with a sharp knife, and bake.
Aren’t they just gorgeous… I can’t get over the red and green! They make the perfect Christmas cookie!
They’re just as beautiful baked and have such great flavors. You can serve them at room temperature or store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Freezing Your Cookies
If you want to prep your cookies in advance, I would recommend placing the wrapped log of dough into your freezer instead of the refrigerator. The day before you want to bake up your cookie recipes, let the dough thaw in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup butter chilled and cut into cubes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 Cup pistachios
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Pulse the cranberries a couple of times in a food processor and transfer to a bowl.
- Now repeat the process with the pistachios and set aside in a bowl.
- Now. to the same food processor, add the flour, sugar, salt and give it a 2 or 3 pulses till nicely mixed.
- Next throw in the butter and pulse till it resembles a crumbly mixture.
- Drizzle in the almond extract and orange juice and give it a couple more pulses to mix.
- Now fold in the chopped pistachios and chopped cranberries.
- Transfer the flour mixture to a floured surface, knead and roll into a log. Cling wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Cut into 1/4 inch discs. Arrange on cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes till golden brown around the edges.
- Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight container.
Whether you’re baking for a party, gifting treats to friends, or simply indulging in your favorite seasonal flavors, these Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies are a must-try. The buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture of shortbread combined with the tart sweetness of dried cranberries and the rich nuttiness of pistachios makes this recipe a crowd-pleaser. Plus, the red and green flecks give them a festive look that’s perfect for the season!
Other Christmas Cookies
Season’s Greetings,
These cookies look delicious and very festive too. Are you using salted or unsalted pistachios?
Thank you for sharing your recipe and thank you in advance for your response.
Cheers
Season’s Greetings,
These cookies look beautiful and I’m excited to try them. Are you using salted or unstalted pistachios?
Thank you for sharing your recipe and thank you in advance for your response.
Cheers
These cookies spread every time I make them. I would recommend adding cornstarch to the mix, or find another recipe that includes cornstarch to better keep the shape when they are baked.
We shared this cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies this holiday season. Everyone in the family loves it! Every bite burst with happiness, it’s like the heaven opened its gates. This is so good, so thumbs up!
I will be making it again this New Year’s Eve Party celebration. I am loving this cookie recipe. My kids love it and they won’t stop eating. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks for this. Xoxo.
This was my second year making these for Christmas and they are SUCH a hit! I follow the recipe exactly except I double the recipe. This year I made 6 different cookie recipes and they are still the favorite. Making another batch tomorrow since there weren’t enough for family to take home extras! Thank you for a wonderful recipe and Merry Christmas
I made these exactly like the recipe but it’s simply a crumbly mess. Not sure what went wrong.
Made these today and while they were delicious they also melted and spread while baking. I didn’t process the butter in the flour, just cut it in, but my mom (the baker in the family) found it odd to be using cold butter at all. I’ll attempt these again with soft butter instead.
I would have to agree that this is perfect for the upcoming holidays. In fact, I am thinking of giving this away to family and friends. Will try to make this ASAP and hopefully, I can make it right. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
i love a creative food idea and this recipe is no joke! great post xo
I don’t have food processor but do have a Vitamix. Do you think that would work? They are so beautiful.
These looks so yummy & festive!
Your cookies look so yummy, they would make a great Christmas gift!
These cookies look delicious. I am a big fan of cranberry and pistachios. This is a really nice combination.
I’m reading your instructions and you don’t mention how the orange juice is worked in and you don’t explain when you put cranberries or pistachios go back in the mix.
Yum, yum, yummy is exactly how amazingly yummy these cookies look.
Let me know about freezing the dough also. Xmas is coming soon and need to get some cookies ready.
These cookies look delicious and will be so festive on the cookie tray. Once you have wrapped the cookie dough in cling wrap to chill- can it be frozen at this point? if so how would you proceed with baking?
thank you
Hi Lynn – I’ve never tried, but I’d think you could freeze. I’d probably pull them out and let them thaw 24 hours in the fridge and then proceed with baking. If you try it, let me know. 🙂
thank you for the speedy reply.