Cranberry-Orange, Pistachio and White Chocolate Shortbread

INGREDIENTS: 

Dry ingredients for gift jar:  

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/4 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped 
• 2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or white chocolate chips) 
• 1 tablespoon dried orange peel (found in the spice section at the grocery store)  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt  
• 1 (32-ounce) Weck Jar 

Wet ingredients needed per jar: 

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 large egg yolk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar, for finishing, optional  

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To make the gift jars: Using a spoon, add the ingredients one by one into the Weck Jar in neat, distinct layers. While you can place them in any order you wish, we recommend the following order, starting at the bottom of the jar: granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, cranberries, pistachios, white chocolate, and finally the orange peel.   

2. Place the lids on the Weck Jars and seal them. If desired, decorate with a bow, ribbon and gift tag. And don’t forget to include the instructions for mixing the dough and baking the cookies if you’re gifting the cookie mix.

3. To bake the cookies: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, mix the butter, egg yolk and vanilla extract on high speed until quite smooth.   

4. Pour all the ingredients from the jar into the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until just combined. It’s ok if it’s slightly crumbly, as overworking it in the bowl will result in tougher cookies.  

5. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it firmly with your hands until it comes together into a reasonably smooth ball.  Place a large piece of plastic wrap on top of a GreenPan Premiere Ovenware Sheet Pan.  Put the dough on top and form it into a rough square (about 8” by 8”) approximately 1/2” tall, fixing any cracks as best you can as you go. Wrap the plastic wrap around the square of dough and transfer it to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour, or until firmed. (If you’d like to ensure a very even thickness on the dough, feel free to level it with a rolling pin after wrapping it, then transfer it to chill.)  

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Cut the dough in half, forming two equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle into thirds, so you end up with six equal pieces of dough, all roughly square in shape. (If desired, trim the edges of all six squares to be perfectly straight and so they’re all the same size.) Lastly, cut each square of dough in half, in both directions, creating four small cookies from each. If using, lightly sprinkle the cookies with demerara sugar and press it down into the cookies until it just adheres. Feel free to gather and reshape more cookies with the scraps if you’d like. 

7. Place the cookies on a GreenPan Premiere Ovenware Sheet Pan, evenly spacing them 1/2” apart. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through the bake time, or until slightly golden brown on the bottom and edges.  

8. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to fully cool on the sheet pan before serving.  If desired, after the cookies have cooled completely, trim all the edges with a serrated knife to make them very straight. 

TECHNIQUES & TIPS:

Shortbread cookies are easy to make but can be finicky to work with. At any time if the dough seems too crumbly, simply knead it a bit more or press it firmly back together. And if it gets too warm and soft, toss it back in the refrigerator for a bit to firm back up before moving on to the next step.  

Using the right amount of flour is important for this recipe. Since flour can settle and compact while being stored, lightly scoop and mix your flour a few times to aerate it before scooping to measure!  

For extra orange flavor, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh orange zest to the butter mixture as you beat it, before adding the ingredients from the jar.

Kitchen Tools:

GreenPan Premiere Ovenware

Platinum Silicone Tools 7-Piece Utensil Set

Ingredient Substitutions: 

If you don’t enjoy white chocolate, pistachios or even cranberries, feel free to swap out any or all. We think dark chocolate, almonds and raisins would be delicious in these cookies! 

Storage & Leftover Suggestions: 

Any baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. Any unbaked cookies are great frozen – simply freeze them on the sheet pan after cutting, then transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. The cookies can be baked from frozen by adding 3 to 5 minutes to the bake time. 
 

 
If you enjoy these Italian inspired holiday shortbreads, check out even more of our favorite cookies like these Gingerbread People or Chocolate Crinkle Cookies! Put together your own Christmas cookie tin by baking a few of your favorite cookie recipes for a giftable holiday collection.