Tomorrow is the big day and I hope you are done with all your chores. I'm assuming that the list of Christmas baking recipes and the 50 Easy Eggless Christmas Cookies I posted last week should have been of some help for all the beginners and bakers on a time crunch. I couldn't resist from trying another shortbread cookie recipe given the season. So baked these tender and crispy eggless pistachio cranberry shortbread cookie recipe over the weekend that I had bookmarked from here. Even though I have tried cranberry shortbread cookies and chocolate shortbread cookies before, I couldn't ignore this one.
Pistachio and cranberries is quite a combo, both eye candy and tasty. The chewiness of the dried cranberries goes well with the crunchiness of the pistachios. The vegan cranberry pistachio biscotti recipe is yet another proof. That's why I chose to use pistachios instead of pecans that was mentioned in the original recipe and baked these cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies.
I'm so glad that I tried it because these shortbread cookies turned out awesome. They were light, tender and crispy. We couldn't taste the whole wheat flour at all. Even though whole wheat pastry flour is not as robust as regular whole wheat flour, you would still feel a mild nutty flavor when used in muffins, cakes and sometimes in cookies too. But this recipe is an exception I guess, because we didn't feel it even a bit.
You may add some white chocolate chips too to the dough and make it as white chocolate and cranberry shortbread cookies. With the pistachios, the red, white and green color will make it a perfect Christmas treat. Pistachios are quite expensive than the other nuts but the season is definitely worth the extra splurge because these cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies are to die for! The taste and texture is unbeatable!
If you tried this Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups butter softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup (can be replaced with sugar as well)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (orange zest and extract can be used too)
- 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup pistachios toasted
Substitutes:
Instructions
- Cream together the butter, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract using an electric beater. Recently baked with just butter and sugar. (Check My Notes)
- Add flour one cup at a time and the salt, mixing well after each cup is added. Do not use the beater for this, just mix it with a wooden spoon or spatula. Beating it with a hand held mixer might result it tough cookies.
- Stir in the cranberries and pistachios.
- Shape dough into two logs, each log about 10 inches long. Wrap it tightly with parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I chilled mine overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Cut each log into about 1 cm slices and arrange on the baking sheet(s).
- Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. I took out mine just after 18 minutes. Thicker cookies might need a minute or two more.
- Cool the sheets on a wire rack and let it be for 5 minutes. After that remove the cookies off the pan and let it cool completely on the wire rack before storing it in an air-tight container.
My Notes
- Toast the pistachios on stove top in a pan for about 5-7 minutes or in the oven, stirring once or twice in the middle so that it doesn't burn. Set it aside to cool before adding it to the dough.
- Recently I baked the cookies without the maple syrup. So used ¾th of a cup of sugar and still got the same result. Crispy pistachio cranberry shortbread cookies.
- If you prefer baking these shortbread cookies with wheat flour it has to be whole wheat pastry flour. It yields tender and crispy cookies. I'm pretty sure that the regular(hard) whole wheat flour will not be suitable for these cookies. Of course you can bake with all-purpose flour too. Gluten-free baking mix will work too.
- These shortbread cookies does not have the maple flavor. If you are a fan of maple you might want to use maple extract instead of vanilla extract. I have also tried this recipe using orange zest and orange extract. It gives a nice citrus flavor. Do try that too.
- Proceed with caution while slicing the dough. Do not use a "see-saw" motion while cutting it because the dough would start crumbling. Instead just run through the dough once with a serrated knife. Even if the dough cracks, you can still patch it up together. The cut has to be one smooth motion from top to bottom. To avoid cracks do not slice the cookies too thin.
- The number of cookies you will get depends upon how thin or thick you slice the dough. I was able to get 60 cookies when the original recipe states the yield is 30-40 cookies. The baking time of the cookies will depend upon how thin or thick you slice the cookies. So always test bake and determine the baking time before proceeding to bake the entire batch.
Nutrition
Nadia says
Hello,
You say, "Cut each log into 1/4-1/2 inch slices" - firstly what does that mean 1/4-1/2 and the picture has rounded cookies, is the picture not for this recipe? I'd like to bake rounded cookies.
Thank you!
Nadia
Madhuram says
Hi Nadia, it means that the cookie slices should be around 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thickness depending upon how thick you want your cookies to be. Yes you will get round slices when you roll the dough into a log and then slice it. When you bake these dough slices you will get round cookies.
Paayel says
Hi
Is your cup measurement Indian or American? Also in your measurements guide 1 stick of butter equals 112 gms whereas the Indian Amul butter is 100 gms.
Thanks
Madhuram says
It's standard US cup measurement. The charts I got from the web. So really don't know how it works because I don't use grams/weight while baking.
anju says
hi
can we use golden syrup instead of maple or honey
Madhuram says
Hmm..probably
Madeleine Rex says
Hey there! I wanna check that all-purpose flour would be alright. It says so in the substitutes, but when you discuss which flour is best later in the article, you won't mention it.
Madhuram says
Yes you may use Madeleine.
Marci says
Did Sophie above substitute oat flour in the same amt as you used whole wheat flour?
Rinika Jain says
White sugar is granulated sugar or powdered sugar?
Madhuram says
Granulated.
Honey says
i made these right now. they taste so incredible. i love how simple the instruction and how very few the ingredients are.
its my favourite cookie recipe now.
thanks so much for sharing 🙂
xx Honey from http://www.honeyuncharted.com
Madhuram says
Thanks dear 🙂
Sophie says
Delicious! Thank you for the recipe! Will definitely make again.
I did change some things as I am vegan i used margarine. instead of white sugar i used brown sugar. added some ground cloves, lemon peel, ground pistachio instead of whole ones and used oatmeal flour instead of all purpose flour to make it gluten free and healthier. I also added in some ground hazelnuts..yummy!
Madhuram says
Great to know the gluten free version works alright too! 😀
Sheetu says
I tried these cookies yesterday. I did not have any cranberries and pistachios and just added roasted almond. Oh boy! they were really yummnn. I love to incorporate whole wheat pastry flour instead of maida whenever possible. Especially with a 2 year old cookie monster at home ;). Don't want to give too much maida to her. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Sheetu. 🙂
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Sheetu. 🙂
Melissa says
This was, hands-down, the best cookie dough I have ever tasted! I anticipated that including some subtle orange flavor would give it an extra burst of deliciousness, and boy was I right! I used four drops of food-grade wild orange essential oil (from doTERRA), but I think the same effect could be achieved by using orange extract or the zest of 1-2 oranges. Be sure to leave some of the dough unbaked, because while the cookies are delightful, the dough is TO DIE FOR. Also, I recommend chopping the pistachios and cranberries a bit before adding to the dough, partly to make the cookie-cutting easier, and partly because I just like smaller chunks of things in my baked goods.
Madhuram says
Wonderful feedback Melissa. You made my day. Thanks a bunch for the tip too. 🙂
YY says
These are amazing. I didn't have pistachios and substituted with roasted almonds. They worked just fine. My husband has been asking for more even before he finish. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the extra notes on modifications too. It encouraged me to be more adventurous and flexible.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback and welcome YY.
Lisam says
These look yummazing! Question ~ are the pistachios the same as I buy for snacks? Or, are they specific for baking? Thanks. I can't wait to make these.
Madhuram says
As long as it is not salted you should be fine. Or salted should be ok too if you like salty and sweet cookies.
kiran gupta says
What is white wheat pastery flour orwhite whole wheat flour
Madhuram says
Whole wheat pastry flour and white whole wheat flour is different. Both are milled from soft wheat and have lower gluten content, so the baked goods will not have a strong flavor like regular whole wheat flour.
sowmya says
Hi Madhu,
The cookies came out soo awesome that they were over within 3 days. All 30 of them!! I didn't have pista or cranberries so i added almonds,walnuts and raisins.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Sowmya.
Moka says
I did'nt have cranberries so did'nt put it but still the cookies tasted very good. I am making these cookies for the baby shower this weekend. I have a question though. What is the shelf life of these cookies?
Madhuram says
I really don't know Moka. But I think it should be good for at least 7-10 days if stored in an air-tight container. Or you could just freeze the cookies are even the dough and bake it whenever you need for a minute or two longer.
sowmya says
Madhu,
Would it alright to use atta is place of white whole wheat? And would the cookies come out ok if I used cookie cutter to cut them? Sort of like first slice the dough then cut using heart cookie cutter then combine the cut leftover pieces for making free hand cookie shapes? I'm trying to make valentine short bread cookies. Your recipes are so good! So I thought I could use one of yours.
sowmya
Madhuram says
If you are talking about brands like Deep, Pillsbury you should be fine but I'm not sure about any other brand. I wouldn't recommend using a cookie cutter for this recipe because there are plenty chances that the dough would crumble. Some of my round slices itself crumbled while slicing. You could try this Cranberry Shortbread Cookies recipe or Chocolate Shortbread Cookies recipe instead by flattening the dough and cutting out desired shapes.
sowmya says
Thanks Madhu. I am using Ashirvadh at home. Would that do?
Madhuram says
Yes, it should be fine.
Sam says
I thought it had posted my rating with my post. So sorry.
Madhuram says
That's okay Sam.
Sam says
I made this shortbread yesterday and there isn't much left. It is so delish! I used coconut oil and they came out perfect, tastes just like traditional shortbread. I also used AP flour and it worked great. Only thing I would do if using coconut oil is that it doesn't have to be in the fridge for as long as it says for the butter because it just gets so hard and then when cut it, it just crumbled (30 minutes should do it)
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Sam. I wish you could rate the recipe.
Deepika says
Tried these cookies and it turned out really delicious...Will try the same recipe as a savory next time with added spices and salt...am pretty confident they will turn out good...I halved the quantities and ended up with 30 cookies...
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Deepika.
Vaishali says
Madhuram, I love these cranberry- and pistachio-studded goodies! What a perfect Christmas cookie.
How have you been? Here's wishing you a very happy new year.