Aside from gingerbread, I can’t think of a cookie more perfectly suited to Christmas time than these cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies. Perfect for wrapping into little food gift parcels for Christmas or for having at the ready for holiday snacking, everyone loves these buttery cookies.
I make them every year. Not only are they incredibly easy to make with just 7 ingredients, they’re all kinds of buttery and delicious. They are everything shortbread should be and more. They’re crumbly and tender, crispy but in a melt-in-your-mouth kind of way and completely addictive.
If you aren’t already convinced, it’s time to fall in love with shortbread. These are adapted from my spiced christmas shortbread which you can also see sitting pretty on top of these eggnog panna cottas.
If you already love shortbread, you’ll love this chocolate chip shortbread and this ginger shortbread too.
This recipe was first published here on December 7th, 2017 and has been updated with better images and step by step images.
Check out this list of the 25 best Christmas cookie recipes too.
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Ingredients for cranberry pistachio shortbread
7 ingredients are all you need to create the most Christmassy Christmas cookie.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Butter (5): Shortbread has three most important ingredients – flour, sugar and butter. Use unsalted butter so you can control the salt level.
- Flour (4): Just use plain / all-purpose flour for these cookies.
- Rice flour (3): Rice flour gives traditional shortbread it’s classic crisp texture. You can leave it out, just replace it with plain / all-purpose flour. Though not traditional, you can also add cornflour / cornstarch in place of the rice flour, which will give you an even meltier texture.
- Sugar (7): Of course, a good cookie has to have some sugar. Just use white granulated or caster sugar here.
- Dried cranberries (2): Use unsweetened dried cranberries and make sure to chop them up quite finely.
- Pistachios (6): Use unsalted roasted pistachios, if you can get them but raw will work fine too. If you can only find salted, just wash and dry them well before using.
- Orange (1): Orange zest is my secret ingredient in these cookies. It gives them a real festive vibe and orange goes so well with cranberries.
White chocolate also goes well with cranberries, pistachios and buttery shortbread so feel free to dip them at the end. You could also add a little vanilla extract if you like.
How to make cranberry orange shortbread cookies
Shortbread is very simple to make and typically does not require chilling.
Detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
- Beat the butter and sugar: You need to cream the butter and sugar together – this requires beating them together for a good 5-6 minutes in a large bowl, scraping down the bowl from time to time, until it looks lightened and fluffy.
- Add the flour: Add the flours in 3 parts (photo 1) beating just until combined each time.
- Add-ins: Now add your pistachios, cranberries and orange zest (photo 2) and beat through on low.
- Roll and cut: Pull the dough together (photo 3) then roll it out to about 1cm or roughly ½ inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes (photo 4) and transfer them to a cookie tray / baking tray (photo 5).
- Bake: Bake for around 14 minutes until the edges are just beginning to turn golden then let them cool on a wire rack.
There is no need to chill shortbread dough unless it’s very hot or the dough has become very warm from handling. There is enough flour in the dough to keep them from spreading too much.
Tips and tricks
- Creaming the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy is important so don’t rush this step.
- Don’t add too much flour when rolling the dough or you’ll end up with dry shortbread cookies.
- Make sure to chop your pistachios and cranberries – the smaller pieces make it easier to cut the dough with a cookie cutter.
- Don’t sit them too close together on the baking sheet. While shortbread doesn’t spread too much, they need space for air to circulate around them. Leave 1 ½ to 2 inches between them.
Variations
While red cranberries and green pistachios give these cookies a totally festive vibe, once you have a shortbread dough, you can add any add-ins you like.
Try changing it up with other nuts like almonds or cashews. Add some white or dark chocolate chips. Or try other dried fruits (hint hint: dried apricots work beautifully with shredded coconut).
RELATED: Try these Orange Almond Crescent Cookies
Storage
Shortbread keeps well too. Stored in an airtight container, shortbread keeps well at room temperature for 3-4 weeks. The pantry is best.
Freezing shortbread
These cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies can be frozen too, before or after baking.
- Before baking: Freeze the dough in a log, then use it slice and bake style. Or after cutting out the cookie shapes, let them get firm in the freezer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Once solid, transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 months. They can be baked from frozen but add 3-4 extra minutes.
- After baking: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
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Ingredients
- 115 g unsalted butter softened, (1 stick / ½ cup / 4oz)
- 50 g caster sugar (superfine sugar, or granulated) (¼ cup / 1.8oz)
- 130 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (1 cup / 4.6oz)
- 40 g rice flour (1.4oz)
- Zest of one orange
- ⅓ cup unsalted pistachios roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries roughly chopped
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Using a handheld electric beater and large bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (5-6 minutes).
- Sift together the flour and rice flour, then add to the butter and sugar in 3 lots until just combined each time.
- Add the zest chopped pistachios and chopped cranberries and mix until well distributed.
- On a very lightly floured surface, pull the dough together with your hands until smooth.
- Roll the dough out 1cm (½ inch) thick. Cut out shapes (I used a square cutter approximately 4cm wide). Use a spatula to help to transfer the unbaked cookies to the baking trays and sit them at least an inch apart.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the edges start turning golden.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Make sure to cream the butter and sugar together well. Don’t skip this part.
- Baked cookies and unbaked cookie dough will freeze well for up to 2 months in an airtight container.
- Bake cookies keep for 3-4 weeks in an airtight container.
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – if you know your oven runs hotter than standard, take them out 2-3 minutes before the recipe suggest and allow them to cool to see if they crisp and cooked through.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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4 Comments on “Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies”
These are quick and easy to make. I used a fluted cutter and they looked great. Thanks Marie another success
So happy you love them, Kim 🙂
This recipe has something inherently wrong. The batter didn’t come out as described. Too dry. There is no liquid. Also, it tastes v bland. There is basically no sugar. Maybe a typo. I added 3 times more sugar to get a basic cookie tasting dough.. still v low on sugar.. but not enough liquid and I had all this batter on hand.. so I added a few eggs and made it into a cake. Had to add caramels on top so that I cud have some sweetness in the final product. I loved the flavour profile and the simplicity of this recipe but nothing bear the pics u have. Maybe there is a typo.. or something to do with spoon sizes and measurements. Although I use grams and ml measures. Please lemme know if u edit it or have any idea of what went wrong. I wud love to make those cookies.
No, nothing wrong. This is a shortbread recipe so there should not be any liquid and it is a dry dough. Shortbread are meant to be crisp, crumbly cookies not a chewy or cakey style cookie. Also, there is less sugar in the mix as they are dusted with sugar on top as well. I use the same base recipe for my Spiced Shortbread and it’s buttery and totally delicious. Maybe you aren’t after a shortbread recipe. Maybe check through the cookies category for a different style of cookie. Happy baking 🙂