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Cranberry Pistachio Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Cranberry Pistachio Whipped Shortbread Cookies

These cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies are absolutely delicious. An easy, slice and bake shortbread cookie, filled with dried cranberries and chopped pistachios – perfect for your holiday baking!

If you love whipped shortbread cookies, you will love these easy, slice and bake, cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies.

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies

They are so easy to make. Simply whip all the cookie dough ingredients together with an electric mixer, stir in some dried cranberries and chopped pistachios, and form the dough into a 2″ thick log. After chilling for an hour, you can slice up the dough and bake it.

Add a drizzle of melted white chocolate to the cooled cookies and you have the perfect holiday cookie.

These cookies look so Christmas-y, and they taste delicious. And they’re super easy to make!

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies

What does cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread taste like?

There is a lot of butter in shortbread cookies, but not a lot of sugar. So these crisp little cookies are rich and buttery, but they are not overly sweet.

The dried cranberries do add some sweetness though, as does the drizzle of white chocolate.

They still aren’t as sweet as a lot of cookies though, so if you prefer sweeter cookies, go with these sugar cookies instead.

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies

Why is it called shortbread?

These cookies are called shortbread because there is a large amount of butter in them. The term short actually means crumbly.

Don’t expect a chewy cookie – they are supposed to be a bit crumbly. Cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies are crisp and buttery, and they absolutely melt in your mouth.

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread

Can you freeze cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies?

These cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies freeze very well.

Once the chocolate drizzle on top has set, you can freeze them in an airtight container with wax paper in between the layers of cookies. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.

They defrost very quickly at room temperature, and are very good even when they’re still cold.

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies

How to make Cranberry Pistachio Whipped Shortbread Cookies:

  • Make sure you whip the dough well. It will be crumbly at first – it takes 2-3 minutes of whipping in a stand mixer or food processor, and 4-5 minutes with an electric hand mixer to get the dough to come together. If you don’t whip it long enough, it will be too crumbly.
  • Don’t use butter that is too warm. You want it just softened enough to whip, but if it is too warm it will get too soft when whipping the dough, and it will be difficult to shape the dough into a log.
  • White chocolate seizes very easily, so make sure to melt it slowly. I like to melt it in the microwave at 50% power, stirring every 20-30 seconds until it is melted.
  • I have recipes for 4 other flavours of whipped shortbread cookies. You can find them here: 5 Tasty Whipped Shortbread Cookies

Here are some more great Christmas cookie recipes for you:

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread
Yield: 30 cookies

Cranberry Pistachio Whipped Shortbread Cookies

cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies

These cranberry pistachio whipped shortbread cookies are absolutely delicious! Easy, slice and bake cookies make the perfect holiday treat!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 26 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup chopped pistachios
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy.  
  2. Add the cornstarch, flour, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and whip until the dough comes together. This will take 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer and 4-5 minutes with a hand mixer.
  3. Mix in the pistachios and cranberries.
  4. Form the dough into a log, about 2 inches across, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour.  
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Slice the log of cookie dough into 1/4” thick slices and lay them on a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.  
  7. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just set.  
  8. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.  
  9. Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in the microwave at 50% power for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the last 1/3 of the chopped chocolate and stir until it is all melted.
  10. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cooled cookies. Using a fork for this is the easiest way to get nicely drizzled chocolate. 
  11. Allow the chocolate to set.
  12. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

Source:  Adapted from my Whipped Shortbread Cookies.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1 cookie

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g

Linda mulholland

Sunday 4th of December 2022

Approximately how many cookies does this recipe yield?

Stacey

Monday 5th of December 2022

About 30

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