by Diana Rattray
These shortbread cookies are the best, with egg yolks making them tender and pistachios and cranberries adding great texture. The dough includes orange zest, which gives the cookies a hint of complementary orange flavor.
You’ll get the best texture if you chop the pistachios and cranberries by hand. A food processor is an option, but it tends to chop quite finely. Use lightly salted shelled pistachios in the recipe and your favorite dried cranberries.
They’re slice and bake cookies, so you can save one well-wrapped log of cookie dough for up to 3 days in the fridge or a few months freezer to bake another day.
How to Store
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 2 to 3 months. When freezing them, make sure to label the container or bag with the name and use-by date.
Variations
- Instead of cranberries, use the same amount of chopped dried cherries.
- Add about 1/2 cup of chopped semisweet chocolate to the dough along with the chopped cranberries and pistachios.
You might also enjoy this recipe for citrus cardamom sablés or these snickerdoodle sablé cookies. And these jam-filled Jammie Dodgers are always a hit!
PrintPistachio Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
Pistachio cranberry shortbread cookies perfectly combine pistachios, dried cranberries, and orange zest. The shortbread cookies are as pretty as they are delicious!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest, from 2 oranges
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 (30 grams) cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (80 grams) dried cranberries, chopped
- 3/4 cup (90 grams) pistachios, lightly salted, chopped
Egg Coating
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup sparkling sugar, sanding sugar, or demerara
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar with the orange zest and mash with the back of a spoon until the zest is evenly distributed throughout the sugar.
- In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar-orange mixture, the confectioners’ sugar, and the salt and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until blended. Save and refrigerate 1 egg white—you will need it later. You can save or discard the second egg white.
- Add the flour and mix on low speed just until combined, then fold in the chopped cranberries and pistachios.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. Roughly shape one portion of the dough into a log—you may need to flour your hands lightly. Using the sheet of plastic wrap, roll it into a log about 9 inches in length and twist the ends to secure. Cut open an empty paper towel tube and wrap it around the log of dough. Secure it with a few pieces of kitchen twine. This will keep the logs nicely rounded. You can skip the paper towel tube if you don’t have any. Repeat with the remaining dough. Refrigerate the cookie dough logs for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- When it’s time to bake, heat the oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the saved egg white. Take one log out of the fridge, unwrap it, and brush with the egg white—coat it with sparkling sugar. Cut the log into slices about 1/2-inch thick. You should have 16 to 18 slices. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining cookie log.
- Bake the cookies for 13 to 17 minutes, or just until they are lightly browned on the bottoms. In general, baking sheets with dark bottoms take less time than lighter colored baking sheets.
- Place the baking sheet on a rack and let the cookies cool for 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to racks to cool completely.
Notes
The cookies ready to bake on a baking sheet.
Baked pistachio shortbread on the baking sheet.
