These cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies are easy, delicious and pretty. With a white chocolate glaze, these festive cookies are perfect for holiday treats or gifts.
These cranberry pistachio shortbread are a holiday spin on a shortbread cookie I have made several times, with different flavours and toppings. This version uses chopped pistachios and dried cranberries both in and on top of the cookies. It also has a lovely white chocolate glaze.
I love these cookies as they always bake up perfectly. Baking them in a pan and cutting into wedges means no rolling or cookie cutters needed. They are thick and delicious. They are also sturdy, so they travel and keep well. Perfect for gifting.
I think cranberry and pistachio are a classic combination for holiday baking. Here are the other versions of this cookie though, if you’d like to try more options, as well. Vanilla Rose Shortbread Cookies, Lemon Pistachio Shortbread and Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles.
Ingredients and substitutions
Pistachios – use raw, unsalted pistachios for the topping, as they have a lovely, bright green colour.
Cranberries – this recipe uses dried cranberries.
White chocolate – for best results, buy white chocolate bars rather than using white chocolate chips.
Recipes tips!
- Be sure to take the time to finely chop your pistachios and cranberries, so you don’t have large chunks in or on top of the cookies.
- Be sure to work quickly with the white chocolate glaze, as it will begin to thicken if it sits too long. If necessary, give it a quick 10-second shot in the microwave and re-stir, to loosen.
- The recipe intentionally makes a large batch of glaze, so that the cookies are easier to dip. You will not use it all.
- If you prefer or don’t have white chocolate on hand, you can use the glaze from these Rose Vanilla Shortbread Cookies (minus the roses, of course). It’s a simple icing sugar and vanilla glaze.
Top Tip!
White chocolate can be tricky to melt completely. If you find yourself with small bits of solids in your white chocolate, despite a lot of stirring, simply pour through a fine mesh strainer to strain them out before dipping your cookies.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, use a bit less if using salted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 Tablespoons pistachios, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries, finely chopped
Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate, chopped (white chocolate bars recommeded)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (35% b.f.), or half-and-half or milk
- 1 1/2 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup pistachios, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour just until combined. Add the chopped pistachios and chopped dried cranberries and mix until combined.
- Press dough into a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom (or alternately, a 9-inch round cake pan, lining the bottom with a round of parchment paper). Flatten dough with the palm of your hand to make a smooth surface. Using a sharp knife, score the surface of the dough in to 16 wedges. Prick each wedge with a fork twice. Refrigerate pan with dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300F. (not fan-assisted)
- Bake cookies in preheated oven until firm and pale golden, about 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then, using a sharp knife, cut through the score lines you made before baking, wiping off the blade between each cut. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare glaze by combining white chocolate chips with cream in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds. Remove and stir. Microwave in additional 30 second intervals until melted. Stir in icing sugar, adding additional cream if needed to make a glaze that will easily drip off a spoon.
- *Note: If you end up with small lumps of solids in your glaze, pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove before dipping.
- Tip: Be sure to use a bowl that will allow you to dip the cookies in flat from end to end, so it should be at least 5-inches wide. That said, don’t use too big a bowl or your glaze will be too thin a layer and you may bottom-out when you dip).
- Prepare your chopped pistachios and chopped dried cranberries and set aside.
- Remove cookies from pan to a rack. Holding a cookie by the sides, dip the top of the cookie into the glaze to coat. Hold point side down and allow the excess to drip off. Gently remove any drip at the point end by running it along the edge of the bowl. Place on to rack. Once you’ve done about 4 wedges, sprinkle those ones with some of the chopped pistachio and cranberry, before the glaze sets to much that they won’t stick. I like to sprinkle a bit of the smaller stuff first, sprinkling over the outer 2/3 of the wedge (leaving the narrow end clear). Then sprinkle some of the larger pieces at the wide end. Repeat until you have glazed and sprinkled all the cookies.
- Allow to stand until the glaze is set, about 1 hour or pop in the fridge to speed the process up. Store in a flat even layer in an airtight container. These keep well stored at room temperature for about a week. These would also freeze well!
Notes
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
A holiday favourite my family now requests every year!
So pleased to hear that, Rhian. Thanks so much!
These shortbread cookies are the bomb!! Not only scrumptious but also so beautiful. I brought to a party and they looked so pretty on my serving platter. Will definitely be making these again.
I used a regular 9″ cake pan treated with baking goop and they released easily from the pan. If you wanted to make them into smaller squares, instead of triangles, you could use an 8″ square pan. I accidentally put the 1/4 cup of pistachios and cranberries into the mix, so had the 2 T of each for the topping, but that really was enough for topping, and they tasted great, so I might just do it that way when I make them again.
For the icing I used Ghirardelli white chocolate squares (I used 2 & 1/2 packages or 12 ounces) because the white chips I was finding weren’t actually chocolate – no cocao in them. The Ghirardelli is more of a yellow tint, so they did not look quite as pretty white, but still were beautiful. I did get the little bit of chocolate that didn’t quite melt, but I used a whisk and that did the trick. I know there was going to be extra leftover, but I ended up with 9 ounces of icing left over so I have refrigerated and will make another batch and reuse that. Can definitely do two batches with the same quantity of icing.
With the chopping of the pistachios and cranberries, and dipping and decorating, these take a bit of time, but so worth it. Thanks!
So glad you are enjoying them! Thanks so much :)
Could you use walnuts instead of pistachios? Absolutely an amazing recipe- the whole fam loved them xx
Hi Lia and absolutely you can swap in walnuts for the pistachios. Thanks :)
I’m not a big fan of most white chocolate chips so I was wondering if a bar of good quality white chocolate, such as Lindt, would produce the same results. I know chips have stabilizers in them to help them keep their shape but I love the taste of Lindt. Did you try other white chocolate in this recipe?
Hi Mary, I haven’t tested this with other chocolate, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work just the same as the chips.
Jennifer, novice baker here! Is it possible to use 9 inch spring form pan? Looking forward to making shortbread for the first time. Thank you!
Hi Susan and yes! I don’t have a 9-inch springform, so never thought of it, but it would work just fine. I would probably still line the bottom with parchment, just for super easy removal :) Enjoy!
Beautiful shortbread, I love the white chocolate glaze!
Thanks Laura!
I’m a HUGE shortbread fan Jennifer, so these will absolutely be on my holiday baking list!
Thanks Mary Ann! These are so easy and delicious. One of my favourites :)
You decorated it so beautifully that it could easily double as a holiday table centerpiece. Love your recipes – never too complicated and always delicious. This past Sunday I made the Dutch baby with the poached eggs and let Chris make the hollandaise – it was a great breakfast to share with kiddo!
Thanks so much, Milena :) And so glad you tried that Dutch Baby. One of my favourites when I’m feeling a need for an easy Benny thing!
I was Wondering if milk chocolate can work instead of using white chocolate?
Hi Elle and yes, milk chocolate should work just the same way as white here.
Lovely recipe for holiday cookies and beautiful photos! We started decorating for Christmas, so this is the perfect excuse to make these shortbreads! Perfect for gifting! Pinning this too!
Thanks so much, Liz :)
These are lovely Jennifer – and perfect for the holidays. I’m already thinking about Christmas and decorating and baking. This is pretty early for me. I even listened to two, maybe three, Christmas songs today. I love these cookies and the flavor combination. Great for all occasions! Pinning
Thanks Tricia! I think it’s a little easier for us Canadians as we don’t have Thanksgiving still to come. That and the fact that we have snow already ;)
These looks almost (just almost) too pretty to eat, Jennifer! They’d be lovely for gifting during the holidays too…though I think I’d have to double the batch ;)
Thanks Dawn and yes, one to gift and one to eat, for sure :)
Cranberry and pistachios are one of my favorite combos (I’m actually using both for a truffle recipe today!). Can’t be beat around the Holidays. These are works of art, Jennifer! Must try!
Thanks so much, Liz :)