Cranberry lovers will swoon over these shortbread cookies which, thanks to the use of fresh cranberries, actually have the tart pucker and bright, festive color we love.
Flavored with a bit of orange zest and pistachio, these cookies are sure to become a holiday favorite. The best part is they are as simple to make as any slice and bake cookie, and the dough can be refrigerated for days, until it’s time to fire up that oven and win that cookie exchange contest. Want even more wow factor? Dip them halfway in dark chocolate and sprinkle them with a splash of color from ground pistachio or zested orange.
The flavor of these cookies relies on fresh cranberries, so be sure to seek them out at your local grocery store, as they are abundantly available this time of year. Do not substitute frozen, as they will get soggy and make the dough too wet, and definitely do not use dried cranberries, as they are overly sweet and lack the true, tart cranberry flavor that makes these cookies so distinctive.
Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
Zest from 1 orange
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2¼ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup raw pistachios, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries (not frozen or dried), roughly chopped
1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, optional
Ground pistachios, decorating sugar, sea salt to decorate, optional
DIRECTIONS
In a food processor, process the butter, sugar, orange zest and almond extract until smooth and creamy. Add the flour and pulse a few times until a crumbly dough just starts to form. Add the pistachios and cranberries and pulse a few more times to incorporate.
Turn the dough onto a long piece of plastic wrap and form into a log about 16 inches long with a circumference about the size of your middle finger and thumb forming a ring. Cover completely with the plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the plastic wrap from the chilled dough and use a sharp knife to slice the dough into ¼-inch thick rounds, placing them on a cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms turn pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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To make the chocolate-dipped version, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over boiling water, stirring constantly, until smooth. Dip the completely cooled cookies halfway into the melted chocolate and set on the wire rack. Sprinkle them with a bit of ground pistachio, decorating sugar or flake sea salt before letting the chocolate set completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.
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