White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
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These white chocolate, cranberry, pistachio cookies feature the three traditional Christmas colors all wrapped into one incredibly delicious bite! The cranberries can also be substituted with dried cherries for a delicious variation.
White chocolate, cranberry and pistachio cookies…..the three traditional Christmas colors wrapped into one incredibly delicious bite! These buttery cookies feature white chocolate, sweet-tart cranberries, and slightly salty pistachio nuts. The flavors work together beautifully to bring you a delightful holiday treat that is a must-add to your Christmas “to bake” list. (Or use dried cherries in the “off season”).
I published this recipe back in 2013, the year I started this blog. That Christmas I was working on developing a cookie that captured the fun, flavor, and colors of the Christmas holiday. At the time my 3 year old asked if we could make some popcorn, and as I reached into the cupboard for the popcorn kernels I noticed a bag of pistachios. Their vibrant green color stood out to me and within a minute I had my Christmasy cookie conceptualized. And so my kids and I ate some popcorn while I whipped up a batch of these White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies.
They were the first thing my husband noticed when he came home. Todd claims he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. But he’ll gobble up ice cream, Reese’s Pieces, pies, brownies, and cookies, to name a few. Kind of like, “I don’t really crave sweets…except for this and that…and that…and this…..” Yes dear, whatever you say, LOL :)
And so I made a batch of these cookies and no sooner did I exit the kitchen and walk back in again than several cookies were mysteriously missing. And then of course came that all-to-predictable comment, “Now you know I don’t really crave sweets…but these you can make any time!” I just smiled.
These cookies have gone viral over the years and have remained both a reader and a family favorite ever since that December back in 2013.
White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies Recipe
Let’s get started!
First cream the softened butter and the sugars. Beat for several minutes until fluffy and pale – this step is important to achieving the perfect texture.
Add the egg and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking soda. If you’re using unsalted pistachios, add 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, just until combined.
Stir in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries (or cherries) and pistachio nuts.
Drop heaping spoonfuls of the batter onto the greased cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until they just begin to turn golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
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For more delicious Christmas goodies be sure to try our:
- Kokosmakronen (German Coconut Macaroons)
- Zimtsterne(German Cinnamon Star Cookies)
- Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
- Christmas Pudding (Figgy Pudding)
- Pfeffernüsse (German Iced Spiced Cookies)
- Mince Pies (English Mincemeat Pie)
- Lebkuchen (Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen)
- Stollen (German Christmas Bread)
- Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread)
- Springerle (German Embossed Cookies)
- Printen (Aachener Gingerbread)
- Pandoro (Verona Christmas Bread)
- Speculoos (Gingerbread Shortcrust Cookies)
- Bethmännchen (Marzipan Cookies)
- Heidesand (Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies)
- Marzipan (or Almond Paste)
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White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter , softened at room temperature
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (note: the video mistakenly says baking powder)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped shelled pistachio nuts
- 1 cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries)
- Note: If using unsalted nuts add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a cookie sheet.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy and pale in color, 3-5 minutes. This step is important for ensuring soft, chewy cookies. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and pistachio nuts.
- Drop heaping spoonfuls of the batter onto the greased cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until they just begin to turn golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 13, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
These are great. Mine didn’t flatten out like yours – they seem more like candy than cookie. So many chunks, not much dough. I made them smaller than recommended but that seemed ok since they are very rich. They also took about 12 min to bake/become brown.
Yes, these are chunky cookies. Thanks for the feedback and so glad you enjoyed them.
Do you store these at room temperature?
Hi, Debbie! Yes, I normally store all cookies at room temperature.
Wonderful cookies. I added a bit of grated orange peel and they turned out great!
Thanks so much, Marga, I’m happy you enjoyed them!
Wow, great idea, Marga!
I baked these today but they turned out flat what am i doing wrong :*( yours looks delicious
Sorry to hear that! There are many reasons why cookies turn out flat. Some of the most common reasons are that the butter is too warm when it’s added to the batter (refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes before baking will solve that problem), the baking soda or baking powder is too old, the oven temperature is off, and they can also turn out flat if you grease the cookie sheet (using parchment paper or a silicone mat is best). If you google that question, “why did my cookies turn out flat?” you’ll find additional reasons. Hopefully one of these items solves the problem and you end up with those perfectly chewy cookies!
I was going to make these for Christmas, but I ran out of time. I finally got around making these today am I am so happy I did! They turned out wonderfully! Thanks for the recipe :-)
I’m so happy to hear that, Anne! Thanks so much for the feedback! While these cookies do feature the “Christmas colors”, they’re definitely not limited just to Christmas time and I’ll definitely be making and enjoying these throughout the year, too!
I made these delicious cookies tonight. I rate them 5 stars.very good.
Now all I have to do is enjoy them.
Denise
That’s wonderful, Denise, and thank you so much for the generous rating! We really enjoyed them, too. I love pistachios and am glad I found another way to utilize them. More experimenting to come…
These look like perfection! Pinning now to make this week. So festive!
Thanks so much, Caroline, and thank you for visiting!
These are awesome thank you for sharing
Thank you, Jan!
These looks delish!!! Such ingenuity! :) haha. . . I have a family member who “doesn’t really have a sweet tooth” either so I understand those kinda comments lol ;)
Haha, yes we all know “those kinds” of people ;) The frustrating part of it is that he can eat whatever he wants whenever he wants and not gain a pound! Grrrr! Thanks for the compliment, Tori :)