Cranberry orange shortbread cookies with pistachios will be your new favorite appetizer cookie and cocktail accompaniment for the holidays. Or just relax after a day of cooking and enjoy a few with a cup of tea!
You might also enjoy my orange shortbread cookies with thyme and my fig cocktail cookies.
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I fell in love with the idea of little cocktail cookies way back in 2011 when I was part of an online cooking group working our way through Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table cookbook.
The book has a recipe for a buttery French cookie called a sablé, similar to a shortbread. What intrigued me the most was the savory add-ins making these little shortbread-like bites perfect to accompany a cocktail or just as easily a hot cup of tea.
Why you'll love this recipe
- These little shortbread gems are just screaming Thanksgiving with their cranberry orange flavoring - such a classic combination. And just imagine the cranberry-based cocktail pairings!
- The pistachios add crunch and texture and it turns out, pair beautifully with cranberries! My optional addition of orange blossom water will blow your mind but in a subtly perfect way.
- Add these cranberry and orange shortbread cookies to your make-ahead list when you are planning for the holidays. Prep through dough-making and freeze, or all the way through baking as they will stay fresh at room temp for 3-5 days.
- Play around with the size of the cookie from bite-size to more substantial.
- Guests will find them fun, playful and delicious!
- These cranberry and orange shortbread cookies are crispy, fragrant, buttery but light at the same time. The first time my husband ate them, he said people will take one to see what it is and then want to repeat many times over.
Ingredients you'll need
You probably have everything you need in the house to make these cranberry orange cocktail cookies, except maybe for the pistachios and dried cranberries.
- Olive oil: Use a mildly flavored extra virgin olive oil (not your best peppery finishing oil!)
- Optional orange juice: If your dried cranberries are a little hard, use the orange juice to soften them, adding a little extra flavor at the same time.
- Orange zest: Use your microplane grater (you have one right?) to zest a medium to large orange.
- Egg yolk: Save the white to mix in to your next batch of scrambled eggs!
- Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt which is less "salty" than other brands so I have increased the amount to a full teaspoon. If you're using Morton's kosher salt, use about ½ as much.
- All-Purpose Flour: Haven't tested this recipe with anything but AP so that is what I recommend.
- Pistachios: Use unsalted nuts OR if you have only shelled, salted ones, decrease the amount of salt you use in the recipe.
Let's make this recipe step by step!
(Printable recipe card is at the end of the post with ingredients, measurements and step-by-step instructions. This section includes more and larger pictures and high level explanations of the process.)
The dough for these cranberry and orange shortbread cookies will come together all in one bowl. I use a stand mixer but a hand-held mixer or maybe even really vigorous manual labor could get this done too!
1. Place the orange zest and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Use your hands to mix the orange zest into the sugar to ensure the orange zest is evenly incorporated throughout the cookie dough.
2. Add the butter and beat with the orange sugar at low to medium speed until creamy and well combined.
3. Add the egg yolk and beat until just combined, about 1 minute.
4. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until smooth.
5. Add the salt and flour and beat until just incorporated.
6. Turn the cookie dough out onto a work surface or piece of parchment paper and press it until it just comes together. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. (or make a log out of one or both of the pieces of dough to make slice and bake cookies).
7. Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment to about ¼ inch thick. Slide the wax paper–covered disks onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour, until very firm.
NOTE: Because there are a lot of add-ins to this dough, you might see it crack more around the edges than my orange thyme version. That's ok - just use your hands to pat it back together.
8. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (if making all the cookies at once). Working with one piece of cookie dough at a time, peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Using a 1 ½-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible.
NOTE: You can reuse the dough remnants but you will need to refreeze the dough to work with it again.
9. Arrange the cookies 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 - 18 minutes, until they are lightly golden; shift the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: If your dough is a little thinner than ¼ inch or you use a smaller cookie cutter, reduce the cooking time - start checking them at 10 minutes).
Expert Tips
- You can leave the rolled out cookie dough in the freezer (if you have room) for longer than the time it takes to initially freeze for cutting. (I keep extra large size reclosable bags in the house for these kinds of things). Store the rolled out dough for several days before you bake them if that fits your schedule best.
- OR roll the dough into a log using your hands to form it and then roll it back and forth on parchment to aid in shaping. Then wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze. Obviously, this take up much less space but you won't get the perfect cut out look. I like both methods!
- Play with the size of the cookies you make - for appetizers with a cocktail, I make them pretty small - almost like a quick bite or nibble.
- Macerating (soaking) the dried cranberries in orange juice before you use them is not required - I've made the cookies without doing it and they are great. But if your cranberries are a little dry or you just want to punch up the flavor even more, soaking them in a flavored liquid is a great extra step!
- To take the flavor profile up another notch - add a teaspoon of orange blossom water to the dough. OMG!
Recipe FAQs about cranberry orange shortbread cookies
Absolutely but I recommend you freeze the uncooked dough, rather than the baked cookies (though you absolutely could freeze the baked cookies as well). It's just so nice to eat the freshly baked ones and you have to freeze the dough initially anyhow!
Shortbread has a higher ratio of butter to flour than a sugar cookie. Also a sugar cookie is usually softer and will have an added leavening agent like baking powder. Shortbread does not a leavening agent like baking soda or powder.
There is a lot of crossover between these two cookies. Shortbread is the English version of this crunchy butter-rich cookie. Sablé is the French version. Also the use of the egg(s) is very sablé-like. This cocktail cookie is a crossover of the two styles of cookie.
What to serve with these sablé-like shortbread cookies!
I recommend surprising your guests by pairing with a cocktail or mocktail.
- On my blog the pomegranate mule or hibiscus margarita would be a fun pairing.
- Or serve your favorite cranberry or orange-infused cocktail such as this cranberry orange bourbon fizz.
- Or keep it simple and just pop open some bubbly. Or how about a mimosa?
- Speaking of champagne, if you're crafty, try my friend Laura's champagne bar and make these cookies part of the presentation!
- Or for a mocktail, fresh orange juice mixed with sparkling water and a splash of cranberry juice creates fabulous color and flavor!
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies with Pistachios
Beth LeeIngredients
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (1 medium orange)
- ⅓ cup sugar (reduced from ½ cup in original recipe)
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg yolk
- â…“ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (increased from ¾ teaspoon sea salt to 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- â…” cup dried cranberries chopped to currant-size pieces
- ½ cup toasted pistachios finely chopped
Instructions
- Place the orange zest and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Use your hands to mix the orange zest into the sugar. This ensures the orange zest is evenly incorporated throughout the cookie dough.
- Beat the butter with the orange sugar at low to medium speed until creamy and well incorporated.
- Add the egg yolk and beat until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until smooth and well incorporated. The dough will have a lovely sheen at this point.
- Add the salt and flour and beat until just incorporated.
- Add the cranberries and pistachios and mix in by hand using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula.
- Turn the cookie dough out onto a work surface or piece of parchment paper and press it until it just comes together. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. (or make a log out of one or both of the pieces of dough to make slice and bake cookies).
- Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of wax parchment paper to about ¼ inch thick. Slide the wax paper–covered disks onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour, until very firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (if making all the cookies at once).
- Working with one piece of cookie dough at a time, peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Using a 1 ½-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible.
- NOTE: You can reuse the dough remnants but you will need to refreeze the dough to work with it.
- Arrange the cookies 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 - 18 minutes, until they are lightly golden; shift the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. If baking two sheets at a time, your cook time might be a tad longer. Look for the color cues of a slight golden edge. (If your dough is a little thinner than ¼ inch or you use a smaller cookie cutter, reduce the cooking time - start checking them at 10 minutes).
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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-
- You can leave the rolled out cookie dough in the freezer (if you have room) for longer than the time it takes to initially freeze for cutting. (I keep extra large size reclosable bags in the house for these kinds of things). Store the rolled out dough for several days before you bake them if that fits your schedule best.
- OR roll the dough into a log using your hands to form it and then roll it back and forth on parchment to aid in shaping. Then wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze. Obviously, this take up much less space but you won't get the perfect cut out look. I like both methods!
- Play with the size of the cookies you make - for appetizers with a cocktail, I make them pretty small - almost like a quick bite or nibble.
- Macerating (soaking) the dried cranberries in orange juice before you use them is not required - I've made the cookies without doing it and they are great. But if your cranberries are a little dry or you just want to punch up the flavor even more, soaking them in a flavored liquid is a great extra step!
- To take the flavor profile up another notch - add a teaspoon of orange blossom water to the dough. OMG!
-
Marguerite
Hi Beth
My cookies don’t look as elegant as yours, but they are delicious.
Happy holidays from down under!
Beth Lee
It's not about looks - it's all about the flavor. So glad you enjoyed them Marguerite! Great to hear from you!!
Renee
These are AMAZING! Flavor is wonderful. Can’t recommend highly enough!
Beth Lee
Thanks Renee! I know you have a great palate and this makes me smile really big!