Description
These buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies are made with nutty brown butter, tart cranberries, and crunchy pistachios, giving them a festive and irresistible flavor. Perfect for holiday baking or a delightful treat with tea!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (for a softer texture)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (good quality)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (freshly grated)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped (unsalted)
Instructions
- Brown the Butter: First, make brown butter. Put butter in a pan over medium heat. Melt it. It will bubble. Keep cooking and swirling the pan until it smells nutty and turns light brown. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool a bit.
- Mix Wet Stuff: In a big bowl, mix the cooled brown butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth. Add vanilla and orange zest. It will smell great already
- Add Dry Stuff: In another bowl, mix flour and salt. Slowly add this to the wet stuff. Mix until just combined. Don’t mix too much. The dough will be a bit crumbly at first, but it will come together.
- Add Cranberries and Pistachios: Gently mix in the chopped cranberries and pistachios. Make sure they are spread out in the dough.
- Shape the Dough: Put the dough on a lightly floured surface. Make it into a round, flat disc about 1 inch thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps the cookies not spread too much when baking.
- Get Ready to Bake: Heat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Put parchment paper on baking sheets.
- Roll and Cut: Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes for your cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies. Holiday shapes are fun!
- Bake: Put the cookies on the baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the edges and set. Watch them so they don’t burn.
- Cool Down and Enjoy: Let the cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies cool on the baking sheets for a bit. Then, move them to a wire rack to cool all the way. They get crispier as they cool.
- Optional Glaze: If you want, you can make a simple glaze. Mix powdered sugar with a little orange juice or milk until it’s the right thickness. Drizzle it over the cooled cookies.
Notes
- Cornstarch helps create a softer, more tender shortbread texture.
- For extra crunch, lightly toast the pistachios before adding them.
- Make-ahead tip: Dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for later use.
- For a festive touch, dip half of each cookie in melted white chocolate and let it set.
- Prep Time: PT15M+30M(chilling)
- Cook Time: CT15-20M
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Holiday, Shortbread
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: ~120 kcal
- Sugar: ~6g
- Sodium: ~40mg
- Fat: ~7g
- Saturated Fat: ~3g
- Unsaturated Fat: ~3.5g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: ~14g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: ~2g
- Cholesterol: ~10mg
Keywords: shortbread, brown butter, cranberry cookies, pistachio cookies, cornstarch shortbread, holiday baking