This Pistachio Christmas Cookie Recipe combines both salty and sweet for a soft and chewy cookie, perfect for Christmas and beyond.
Soft and sweet, these deliciously decadent cookies are made with dried cranberries and pistachios. Make them for friends and family and perfect for holiday cookie baking.
- How to Make Soft Cookies
- Do You Use Pistachio Pudding?
- Do You Need to Refrigerate
- Uniform Cookie Size
- Recipe
How to Make Soft Cookies
I’ve done a lot of research with cookies. So, that’s what they’re calling it these days? Yes, yes, they are.
Increasing the amount of brown sugar is a key element. For this recipe, I’m using double the brown sugar over regular granulated sugar. This gives a soft and chewy pistachio cookie that’s bendable and delicious.
The second element is not overbaking. You want the edges to barely start getting brown. The center may look a little undone, especially with the larger size cookie. Believe it or not, the cookie continues baking right on the hot baking sheet.
Do You Use Pistachio Pudding?
This recipe doesn’t use any pudding. Only real pistachios are used in order to get that flavor. And, bonus, you get the pistachio crunch!
Using fresh pistachios for your cookies will also add a little protein and antioxidants. Who doesn’t like that?
Read more about the health benefits of pistachios.
Do You Need to Refrigerate
For best results, I like to refrigerate the cookie dough, even if I only have 30 minutes to an hour.
The butter has already been handled enough that it’s really soft. That little bit of refrigeration time will help pull it back together and keep it from spreading.
Ingredients
Making great cookies doesn’t need to be difficult and it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.
This pistachio Christmas cookie recipe isn’t any different and contains your usual cookie ingredients.
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
Cookie Add-ins
Here’s where the fun begins. Once you have the basic cookie dough, hand stir in the goodies.
- Dried Cranberries
- Pistachios
Dried Cranberries
The dried cranberries are little bursts of fruity flavor. They’re basically little raisins, made of cranberries instead of raisins. They don’t need to be reconstituted. Unlike raisins, they are a little bit tart instead of completely sweet.
Shelled Pistachios
For the pistachios, I used the ones that have already been shelled. If you can only find them in the shell, that’s okay. It will add to your time, but isn’t the end of the world.
It’s important that you chop up the pistachios before adding them to the cookie dough. Not only are they a little big and chunky, but it helps to get a more even amount of pistachios per cookie. You don’t want any of your cookies to feel slighted!
You can chop by hand or use a food processor. Don’t go wild with the food processor, though! You want bits, not powder.
You can use either salted or unsalted pistachios. I love the lightly salted pistachios but, it’s completely okay if you want to reduce the salt.
Getting Uniform Cookie Size
I always recommend a cookie scoop. The sizes most used in my house are 1 tablespoon and 1 ½ tablespoon.
This recipe makes about 45 cookies if using the 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. The cookies are the perfect size for a gathering or for gift giving.
The 1 ½ tablespoon scoop makes about 24 cookies. This larger size has become my favorite for cookie sizes these days. I like to call them Subway size cookies because they’re the size you normally get at a Subway restaurant.
How to Store
These cookies will keep in an airtight container on the counter for about 5 days. They are, of course, best on the first day. So soft and chewy. After about 3 days, that starts to diminish.
As with a lot of baked goods, you can also place them in an airtight container in the freezer. Take out a few cookies and they’ll be ready to eat in about 30 minutes.
Are These Cookies Only for Christmas?
I know that I’ve named these Pistachio Christmas Cookies but that’s only because they are green and red. They’re green from the pistachios and red from the cranberries.
This is one of my favorite cookies, though, and they can be enjoyed any time of the year.
More Cookies, Please!
Browse the Cookie recipes category, or try one of these.
- Magic Unicorn Cookies
- White Chocolate Blondies Recipe
- Coffee Espresso Cookies
- Old Fashioned Oatmeal Carrot Cookies
- Apricot Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Recipe
Pistachio Christmas Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- Standing or hand mixer
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 330 grams All Purpose Flour (about 2 ¾ cups spoon and fill) *see note
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter 2 sticks, softened
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Dried Cranberries like Craisins
- 1 cup Pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. (Chilling a bit in the refrigerator is suggested but not absolutely required.)
- Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
- Stir together butter, sugars and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy.
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Gradually add flour mixture, about one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Hand stir in dried cranberries and chopped pistachios until well mixed throughout.
- Although not absolutely necessary, it's good to refrigerate the dough for about an hour. This keeps the cookies from spreading so much and turning into pancakes while baking.
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. For easier cleaning, use parchment paper. We used a cookie scoop which makes it so much easier to get uniform cookies. There is no need to shape the cookies so you can just drop them in a ball from the scoop.
- Place cookies in preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes. The cookies will brown a little and just barely golden brown around the edges. If using a darker baking sheet, you may need reduce heat by 25 degrees and start checking doneness at 9 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool about 5-8 minutes before removing to a wire rack until cooled completely before storing. Makes 45 cookies.
Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result. 2019-2026 Kim Guzman and Christian Guzman. All rights reserved. 24Bite®
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I’m loving the combination of pistachio and cranberry! These cookies are dangerous. I can’t stop eating them!
Oh my, another great-looking cookie recipe! Definitely looks so yummy and very delicious! Plus the Pistachio will boost the taste and flavor of this! Totally love it!
I can’t resist a good cookie recipe, and this one is so good! Thank you so much for sharing, it’s definitely a favourite in out house 🙂
This is one of my favorite cookie flavors. It is so delicious and it is so easy to make.