Hello from Austin! I am down here celebrating Christmas with my family at my older sister’s house. So far, I have gotten to play with my cute nephew-by-best-friend, do all the holiday food shopping at my beloved Central Market, sleep for nine hours straight (!), and have a very loud and raucous family caroling session in my Mom’s Acura.

Oh, and there have been puppies in costumes.  
But there have also been cookies. When my sisters, sister-in-law, and I went out for dinner last night, they all asked what was up next for the blog. After eleven holiday cookie recipes and not enough sleep, I said I needed some ideas for the twelfth recipe of Twelve Days of Cookies. My little sister, Eliot, brilliant woman that she is, suggested that I use cranberries and pistachios because a) they are delicious, and b) Christmas colors. She didn’t suggest the white chocolate because she likes to pretend it doesn’t exist (direct quote: “White chocolate is a lie and I refuse to acknowledge it!”) 😊 

White Chocolate Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies are simple to throw together, festive, and absolutely delicious. The cookie dough is very straightforward. Beat butter until it’s fluffy. Add in a cup of granulated sugar, followed by half-cup of light brown sugar. Now, 1 1/2 cups of sugar is a lot for the amount of flour in the recipe, but it makes for a super chewy final product. These cookies are a little on the thin side, but between the texture of the cranberries and the cookie itself, you’ll be in heaven. Next up are an egg and a yolk, followed by two teaspoons of vanilla for flavor. Beat in a mixture of flour, cornstarch, baking powder and soda, and salt. Fold in white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and pistachios. Cover the dough and chill it for two hours. This will allow the butter to solidify, and prevent the cookies from over-spreading. The chill is mandatory. I suggest you take the two hours to have your own raucous caroling session. 

Once the dough is nice and cold, scoop it by the tablespoon and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350F. I decorated the tops with additional white chocolate chips, but this is purely for aesthetics and totally optional. Between the chewy cookie base and cranberries, crunchy pistachios, and melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate chips, these cookies need no adornments. And with the Christmas-colored mix-ins, White Chocolate Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies are perfect for your holiday entertaining. 

 This recipe concludes the Twelve Days of Cookies! Whew! If you need holiday cookie recipes, you’ve come to the right corner of the Internet. This month, I’ve posted recipes for Red Velvet Peppermintdoodles, Eggnog Sandwich Cookies, Whipped Shortbread Snowballs, Apple Cider Snaps, Oreo-Stuffed Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies, Peppermint Mocha Cookies, Salted Caramel Chocolate-Covered Pecan Cookies, Chocolate Crinkles {Gluten Free}, M&Ms Potato Chip Cookies, Gingerbread Men with Chocolate Buttons, and Funfetti Sandwich Cookies. Let me know if you try any of these recipes this holiday season! I am on Instagram and Twitter @e2bakesbrooklyn. Use the hashtag #e2bakes so I can see all your wonderful cookies 😊

Merry Christmas!

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
makes about 3.5 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, beat butter until it is fluffy and lighter in color. Beat in sugars, followed by egg and egg yolk, and then vanilla. Add flour mixture in two installments, combining completely. Fold in white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and pistachios. Cover dough and chill at least two hours, or up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two sheet pans with parchment.

Scoop dough by the tablespoon, and roll into balls. Place at least two inches apart on prepared pans. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, until they are starting to turn golden brown. Let them cool on the pans 5-7 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies keep well covered at room temperature for up to a week.