Tag Archives: pistachio

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Wedges

Hi there! I am sorry I left you hanging for a few weeks there—COVID finally got me—but I am very happy to be back with a new recipe in time for the Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. This event, which I am participating in for the fifth year, is a food blogger-lead fundraiser and awareness campaign for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. This organization is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the express mission to raise funds for innovative pediatric cancer treatments and research through bake sales and cookie swaps. Supporters (“Good Cookies”) can do this throughout the year, but I am delighted to lend support as part of my holiday giving especially right now when OXO is matching donations up to $100,000! If you’d like to learn more and/or make a charitable donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, click here. For White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Wedges, keep scrolling!

I would like to give a high five to whichever person decided white chocolate, dried cranberries, and pistachios is a Christmas combination. I don’t believe it was a part of any holiday parties or cookie exchanges I took part in while growing up, but I am all for it now. Aside from just being festive—love that red, green and white—it’s delicious, and a welcome departure from the chocolate, peppermint, and spice-heavy fare that seems to be available 24/7 in December. Not that I’m complaining.

Today’s White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Wedges are the perfect vehicle for showcasing this new holiday classic combination. They’re simple to make, require just a few ingredients, and are incredibly cute—things cut in wedges automatically have Christmas tree vibes, you know?

These buttery shortbread treats come together just as simply as the classic cookies. The dough is mixed in one bowl in just a few minutes. It’s got all the usual shortbread suspects (granulated sugar, softened butter, all-purpose flour), plus confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and salt for smooth texture, flavor and balance. Oh, and white chocolate chips, chopped dried cranberries and pistachios for pizzazz!

Once mixed, the dough is spread into a cake pan lined with an extra-large piece of parchment. It’s docked (vented) with a fork all over before baking for about 40 minutes, until just turning golden at the edges. Fifteen minutes later, that extra-large parchment is used to lift the whole disk of shortbread onto a cutting board and slice it into wedges while it’s still warm. I love those clean edges.

These shortbread wedges are thick and substantial, with a slight softness to their crunch, and plenty of color and flavor from the mix-ins. My favorite bites are the ones with white chocolate—it caramelizes in the oven and is outrageously good. I like to dot a few extra white chocolate chips on top after baking for diversity of flavor (and obvious cuteness). And the chewy cranberries and crunchy pistachios? So good!

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Wedges are perfect for any upcoming party or cookie giving (eating?) occasion. They’re as satisfying to make as they are to eat, and the dough is a perfect blank slate for any festive mix-in your holiday heart desires. What would you put in shortbread wedges? Let me know in the comments!

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Wedges
makes 12-16 wedges

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/3 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1/3 cup pistachio meats, finely chopped
1/3 cup white chocolate chips, plus more for garnish

Preheat oven to 325F. Cut a large (12-14 inch) circle of parchment paper. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter. Line the pan with parchment circle, leaving the overhang for ease of removal. Grease again. Set aside.

Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated and confectioners sugars and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Beat in half of flour and salt, followed by remaining flour. Add chopped dried cranberries, pistachio meats, and white chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to prepared pan and press into an even layer. Use the tines of a fork to dock the entire surface of the dough. If you hit a big piece of pistachio (or whatever), simply pull it off the fork and press it back into place.

Bake shortbread 38-40 minutes, until golden at the edges and set on top. Dot with additional white chocolate chips, if desired.

Let shortbread cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Then use the overhang to remove the still-warm shortbread to a cutting board. Use a large sharp chef’s knife to cut into 12 large or 16 smaller wedges. Gently transfer wedges back to the rack and let cool completely. Serve.

Leftover shortbread will keep covered at room temperature for a few days.

Orange Cardamom Pistachio Shortbread

2 Replies

Today is the sixth day of holiday treats here on E2 Bakes. As far as baked goods go, I’ve posted recipes for Chai Shortbread Snowballs, Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms, Gingersnaps, and Eggnog Bundt Cake. I’ve also posted this seriously easy Hot Chocolate Mix, which is great for gifting. Another great food gift idea? Today’s Orange Cardamom Pistachio Shortbread.

I know that this may not seem much like a typical holiday cookie, but hear me out:

Everybody loves shortbread this time of year. People go crazy for those classic blue tins of the stuff!
Orange and cardamom are extra delicious in the winter. Warming flavors, y’all.
Pistachios. That is all.
Who doesn’t love homemade cookies? Pair a little tin of these with a box of good tea and hand them out to teachers, coworkers, and others who help make your day-to-day easier. They can keep them for themselves or put them out for guests!
These shortbread are ridiculously easy to make.

These little tea cookies are perfect for these last two weeks before Christmas. They’re orangey, nutty, and super buttery. The dough comes together in just a few minutes and is slice-and-bake, so you can make as many or as few cookies as you please. The most difficult part is chopping up the pistachios, but you can skip the cutting board all together and just pulse them in the food processor a few times…although I would much rather wash my knife than the bowl of my food processor 😊

Once the dough is mixed, form it into two logs and wrap them in plastic. Let them chill for a couple of hours before slicing and baking. The pistachios can make this dough a bit challenging to slice, but I’ve got a method that seems to make the process a bit less frustrating.

First of all, use a large, sharp chef’s knife–a sharp blade is crucial to slice-and-bake success. Holding the knife in your dominant hand, use your other hand to gently hold the cookie you are slicing (this will help prevent any breaks). Slice directly down. If the edges of the shortbread rounds crack a bit, just smooth them with your fingers. Lay the sliced cookies on parchment-lined pans and bake for 14-15 minutes, until golden at the edges. Then just let them cool, make yourself a cup of tea, and dunk away!

You and your loved ones will love these Orange Cardamom Pistachio Shortbread! You’ll flip for the warm flavors, crunchy pistachios, and buttery cookie base. When a holiday cookie is this delicious, who cares if it’s traditional?!

Looking for more shortbread? Check out my Chocolate Chip Shortbread, Vanilla-Almond Shortbread, and Whipped Shortbread Snowballs!

Orange Cardamom Pistachio Shortbread
makes about 4 dozen

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted pistachio meats

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add sugar and honey and mix until combined. Add in the orange zest and vanilla extract, and combine. With the mixer running on low, add in flour mixture in two installments, mixing until it is just incorporated. Fold in pistachios. Dough will be crumbly, but should hold together when pinched.

Divide dough in half. Take one half and lay it on a piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap and clean hands, form the dough into a log. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Refrigerate wrapped dough for at least 2 hours, or up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Unwrap one log of dough. Using a large, sharp chef’s knife, slice the dough in 1/4″ installments and lay them on the prepared pans one-inch apart. Bake for 14-15 minutes, until the tops no longer look doughy and the edges are starting to brown. Unwrap the other log of dough and repeat the slicing and baking process. Let cool on the pans for for 10 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

These keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week.

White Chocolate Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies

3 Replies

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.

e2 bakes brooklyn

sweets & sass from a baking brooklynite.

Tag Archives: pistachio

Orange Cardamom Pistachio Shortbread

White Chocolate Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies