These spiced shortbread cookies are dipped in white chocolate and covered in dried cranberries and crushed pistachios. Everything about them screams Christmas.
Why you should make Christmas Shortbread Cookies with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries
I’m not gonna lie to you, on the scale of things, this recipe is a tad more involved than most recipes on this site, just because of the multi-step process of dipping these cookies in melted white chocolate and covering them in two toppings, but.I promise you, it’s so worth it! Here’s why”:
- The colors: First of all, these colors—the red, white and yellow/green scream the holidays
- All the flavors of the season: get the cozy, festive experience of enjoying spices fruit and nuts in the same dessert without having to eat a nasty fruit cake.
- They’re fake fancy: I promise, If you can stir dough together, roll it out, use cookie cutters (or a wine glass as a substitute), operate a knife (nothing fancy or exact required) and a microwave, you got this.
- Pretty enough to gift: for those people you wanna show your appreciation for, but don’t wanna spend any more money on.
What Ingredients Do I Need To Make These Cookies?
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Ground Allspice
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Water
- White Chocolate Chips
- Pistachios (shelled will make your life easier)
- Dried cranberries
How Do I Make These Cookies?
It’s worth it, I swear! As a base, I used a variation on Julie Blanner’s spiced shortbread recipe (but added a few more spices to make it a tad more complex).
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Whisk or stir together to combine thoroughly.
- Cream Butter and sugar. Use a whisk, hand mixer, or a stand mixer to whip together room-temperature butter and sugar until it’s creamed (this is way easier if you have an automated tool).
- Add flour and water to butter and sugar. Mix flour into butter and sugar, then add water and mix with mixer or clean hands (not a whisk) until dough comes together.
- Refrigerate dough before rolling out for 30 minutes in a disc shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Preheat oven, prep baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f, and prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper, butter or a flavorless oil of your choice.
- Roll out dough and cut cookies. Roll out with a rolling pin (or a wine bottle) to ½ inch thickness. Use circular cookie cutters that are about 2 inches in diameter (or if you don’t have one, use wine glasses, like I did) to cut out cookies. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between.
- Bake and prep toppings. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Mince dried cranberries and place into a small to medium-sized bowl.. Crush pistachios and place into a small to medium-sized bowl with a small spoon. You can do this by pulverizing them in a food processor, or by crushing them by beating them in a durable plastic bag with a rolling pin.
- Cool cookies and melt white chocolate. Remove cookies from oven. Place on a cookie rack to cool. Bake second batch if all cookies didn’t fit in the first batch. Add white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each turn, until all chips are fully melted. This should take about 3-4 turns.
- Remove next batch of cookies and prepare dipping setup. Remove and cool second batch of cookies from the oven and place on cooling rack. Take first batch and place near the melted white chocolate, pistachios and cranberries. Then prep a second flat surface with wax paper to place freshly dipped cookies, if possible. If you don’t have wax paper, place cookies back on drying rack.
- Dip cookies and cover in cranberries and pistachios. Dip cookie on a diagonal half way into the melted white chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into bowl for 1-2 seconds. It is okay (and honestly, probably best) if you don’t get white chocolate all the way up the back of the cookie—this can make removal from the surface easier after the chocolate has dried. Plus, the front is the most important part. Spoon pistachios onto the bottom half of the white chocolate covered portion of the cookie until fully covered. Use clean hands to press cranberry pieces onto top half, before placing back on the drying rack. Repeat until all cookies are covered. Allow each cookie to dry for about 10 minutes before eating.
If you haven’t the patience for all these steps, I will be posting a version of this recipe where the cranberries are in the cookie itself, which will save you from having to mince cranberries, preparing the extra bowl and add them on at the end. Personally, I thought the extra effort was worth it and loved the result I got (my friends and family thought so too).
What Kitchen Equipment Do I Need to Make These Cookies?
There are a lot of ways to use minimal equipment in this recipe, and I’ve included tips on those in the directions above. In a perfect world, you would have:
- A standmixer, or a handmixer—For mixing dough
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- A rolling pin (and rolling mat, but you can use a freshly cleaned countertop instead)—for rolling out dough and crushing pistachios (in a large, durable ziplock bag) if you don’t have a food processor
- Bowls and small spoons for white chocolate chips, pistachios and dried cranberries—to prep and ease assembly of cookies
- Microwave—for melting white chocolate chips
- Cutting board and knife—for mincing cranberries
Food processor—to more easily crush pistachios
- A circular cookie cutter—or a wine glass for cutting cookies
- A baking sheet—for baking cookies
- Parchment paper, more butter or oil—to keep cookies from sticking to the sheet
- A cooling rack—to cool cookies before dipping, and dry white chocolate if you don’t have wax paper
- Wax paper—to keep white chocolate from sticking to the drying surface
Help! My Butter Is Still Cold? How Can I Soften It Quickly?
This is me alll the time. You can easily soften cold butter in the microwave by heating the butter for 10 second intervals (stirring in between) until butter is soft.
How Can I Make These Cookies Vegan?
You can make these cookies vegan by using your favorite vegan flour, vegan butter and vegan white chocolate chips in a 1:1 ratio to this recipe.
Yield: 36 cookies
Christmas Shortbread Cookies with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries
If Christmas were a cookie, it would be this. Spiced shortbread, dipped in white chocolate and covered in crushed pistachios and dried cranberries. Great for gifting when you don’t want to spend any more money.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Additional Time
30 minutes
Total Time
55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup shelled pistachios
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Whisk or stir together to combine thoroughly.
- Cream Butter and sugar. Use a whisk, hand mixer, or a stand mixer to whip together room-temperature butter and sugar until it’s creamed (this is way easier if you have an automated tool).
- Add flour and water to butter and sugar. Mix flour into butter and sugar, then add water and mix with mixer or clean hands (not a whisk) until dough comes together.
- Refrigerate dough before rolling out for 30 minutes in a disc shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Preheat oven, prep baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f, and prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper, butter or a flavorless oil of your choice.
- Roll out dough and cut cookies. Roll out with a rolling pin (or a wine bottle) to ½ inch thickness. Use circular cookie cutters that are about 2 inches in diameter to cut out cookies. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches in between.
- Bake and prep toppings. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Mince dried cranberries and place into a small to medium-sized bowl. Crush pistachios and place into a small to medium-sized bowl with a small spoon. You can do this by pulverizing them in a food processor, or by crushing them by beating them in a durable plastic bag with a rolling pin.
- Cool cookies and melt white chocolate. Remove cookies from oven. Place on a cookie rack to cool. Bake second batch if all cookies didn’t fit in the first batch. Add white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each turn, until all chips are fully melted. This should take about 3-4 turns.
- Remove next batch of cookies and prepare dipping setup. Remove and cool second batch of cookies from the oven and place on cooling rack. Take first batch and place near the melted white chocolate, pistachios and cranberries. Then prep a second flat surface with wax paper to place freshly dipped cookies, if possible. If you don’t have wax paper, place cookies back on drying rack.
- Dip cookies and cover in cranberries and pistachios. Dip cookie on a diagonal half way into the melted white chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into bowl for 1-2 seconds. It is okay if you don’t get white chocolate all the way up the back of the cookie. Plus, the front is the most important part. Spoon pistachios onto the bottom half of the white chocolate covered portion of the cookie until fully covered. Use clean hands to press cranberry pieces onto top half, before placing back on the drying rack. Repeat until all cookies are covered. Allow each cookie to dry for about 10 minutes before eating
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