Ingredients

Pistachios: 75 g

• Use raw or roasted, unsalted pistachios.

• Roughly chop them; don’t grind them into powder.

• For the appearance in your photo, keep some pieces around 4–6 mm.

• 75 g is approximately ½ cup + 2 tbsp chopped pistachios.

Allergen: pistachios are tree nuts. If serving commercially or to someone with an allergy, treat the cookies as containing tree nuts and prevent cross-contact.

You can replace pistachios with almonds, walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts, but the flavor and texture will change. For a pistachio-free version, use an equivalent amount of another suitable ingredient.

Detailed Method

1. Prepare the nuts and cranberries

Chop 75 g pistachios into small pieces.

If your dried cranberries are very large, chop them into smaller pieces too.

Tip: If the cranberries are extremely dry, soak them in a little warm water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat completely dry. Excess moisture can affect the dough.

2. Cream the butter and sugar

Put 225 g softened butter in a mixing bowl.

Beat for about 1–2 minutes until smooth.

Add 90 g powdered sugar and beat another 2–3 minutes.

Don’t whip it excessively—the goal is a smooth, creamy shortbread dough rather than a very aerated cake batter.

3. Add yolk and vanilla

Add:

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp orange or lemon zest, if using

Mix just until incorporated.

4. Combine dry ingredients

In another bowl, whisk together:

• 280 g all-purpose flour

• 25 g cornstarch

• ½ tsp salt

Add the dry mixture gradually to the butter mixture.

Mix on low speed or by hand until the dough just comes together.

Do not overmix, otherwise the cookies can become tough.

5. Add pistachios and cranberries

Fold in:

• 75 g chopped pistachios

• 75 g dried cranberries

Distribute them evenly throughout the dough.

 Forming the Cookie Logs

Divide the dough into 2 portions.

Place each portion on parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape into a compact log approximately:

5–6 cm diameter × 20–22 cm long

Roll firmly while gently pressing out air pockets.

Twist or fold the ends of the parchment to tighten the log.

This gives you the neat circular slices shown in your picture.

Chill

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For particularly clean slices, chill for 2 hours, or freeze for approximately 30–40 minutes.

The dough should be firm but not frozen solid.

 Slicing

Heat the oven to:

170°C conventional / 160°C fan

Line a baking tray with parchment.

Remove one dough log from the refrigerator and cut into approximately:

8–10 mm thick slices

Place the cookies about 3–4 cm apart.

If the slices crack slightly, allow them to sit at room temperature for a few minutes and gently reshape them.

 Baking

Bake at:

170°C conventional / 160°C fan

for approximately 12–16 minutes.

The cookies should remain relatively pale on top.

Look for:

• lightly golden edges

• a firm surface

• slightly golden underside

Don’t wait for the whole cookie to become dark golden—the pistachio shortbread is best when it remains light and buttery.

Allow them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

They become noticeably firmer and more shortbread-like as they cool.

 For the exact look in your photo

For a particularly attractive bakery-style appearance:

• Use bright green pistachios.

• Use whole or large pieces of dried cranberry rather than very finely chopped fruit.

• Keep the dough log tightly packed.

• Make slices about 1 cm thick.

• Don’t overbake.

• Press a few extra pistachio pieces and cranberry pieces into the exposed surface immediately before baking.

For the golden color shown in the lower picture, you can add ¼ tsp turmeric purely for color, but it’s optional and should be used sparingly.

Optional flavor variation

For a more Middle-Eastern/Persian-style profile, add:

• ½ tsp cardamom

• 1 tsp rosewater

• 1 tsp orange zest

The pistachio + cranberry + cardamom combination works especially well.

Storage

Once completely cool:

• Room temperature: 5–7 days in an airtight container

• Refrigerated dough: up to 3 days

• Frozen dough log: about 2 months

• Baked cookies: can be frozen for about 1–2 months