With the red and green from the cranberries and pistachios, this is an obvious choice for Christmas cookies. The dough is a little bit of a hassle to work with — very crumbly — and you’ll get the best results by using a stand mixer. The end result is worth it because these are wonderful. The recipe is slightly adapted from Liz The Chef, who in turn, adapted the recipe from Gourmet. The recipe makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.
PISTACHIO CRANBERRY ICEBOX COOKIES
Author: Tag Sale Tastes
Recipe type: Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter (1-1/2 sticks), softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup coarse or sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt, and continue to beat on low speed until the dough comes together in clumps. Mix in pistachios and cranberries.
- Gather the dough together and divide into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a log approximately 1-1/2 inches thick. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the coarse or sparkling sugar onto a plate. Brush each log with the beaten egg, then roll in the sugar. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼-inch slices, and place on cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges of the cookies are lightly golden, approximately 12-15 minutes. Remove to racks to cool.
