Cranberry-Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

By sugarbear

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• Zest of 1 orange
• Icing:
• 1 cup vanilla frosting
• Zest of 1 orange

Preparation

Step 1

To make the dough, place the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment. Mix on medium speed for one minute, then slowly add in the flour until incorporated. Turn to low speed, and mix in pistachios, cranberries, and orange zest until all ingredients are evenly distributed.


Divide the dough in half. For each half, shape the dough into a brick-like form on parchment paper and then wrap the paper around the dough. Cover the parchment paper in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or freeze until ready to use.


Preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut the dough into 1/4" thick slices and place onto a nonstick cookie sheet about 1" apart. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Let cool.


To prepare the icing, mix the frosting and orange zest. Warm in the microwave for about 15 seconds until runny. Using a fork, drizzle the icing across the cookies to create random fine lines.


To Bake from Frozen:

Let dough thaw on your countertop for about 30 minutes before slicing. Remove plastic wrap and parchment paper once thawed. Slice, bake, and ice cookies per above.