Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped toasted pistachios

1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries

Optional: Extra sugar for dusting the tops

Directions

Cream your butter and sugar. 

Add the egg and vanilla and make sure everything is mixed completely. 

Add in measured baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Slowly add your flour. After the flour is completely incorporated, add the cranberries and pistachios. Just mix until they are spread evenly through the dough. 

Divide the dough in half, wrapping each half in plastic wrap in a log shape. The logs should be about 1.5 inches thick. Chill until firm, at least 20 minutes.

When ready to bake, Preheat your oven to 350* F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice dough 1/4-inch thick. Dip each cut cookie into sugar (for a sparkly top). Place each cookie onto parchment prepared trays, leaving about 2 inches space between each.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Don't overbake them.

Chop the nuts and berries. 

Wrap dough in plastic wrap to rest in the fridge.

I slice them right on the wrap. 

Slice 1/4 inch slices and dip into sugar for a glittery look.

An easy find at Walmart at the holidays. 

Sparkly

These store nicely for holiday gift giving.

Can you see the little bit of sparkle on the top? 

It's a natural for Christmas with red and green cranberries and pistacios. 

Kolachkes

16th cookie in my series of Christmas Cookies.

These are a cookie I remember from my childhood. There is a great amount of European influence on the Cleveland, Ohio area. I believe these cookies are originally a Polish pastry. They are a bit more effort to make than drop cookies. They are totally addictive and memorable.

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 pinches of salt

1 Tablespoon grated orange or lemon rind

3 cups flour

fruit, nut and poppy seed fillings

or dried fruit (apricots, prunes)

1 to 1/12 cans will be plenty for one recipe.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

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Directions: 

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. When smooth, add baking powder, salt, citrus rind, and finally flour.

This is a stiff dough. Add your flour slowly.

Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic and chill.

Heat oven to 350*F.

Work with one dough ball at a time. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/8- 1/16 inch thick. Thinner is better. Thicker dough will crack. Cut into diamond shapes, about 1 1/2 inches wide, and put a scant teaspoon of filling on each diamond. Less is better than more. Fold two opposing sides of the dough into center to close the "blanket" around the baby. Lift gently with a spatula and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave room between the cookies, they do spread a little bit.

Bake 12-15 minutes. Let them cool before you try to lift them. Sliding the parchment onto the counter after a couple minutes will speed cooling.

Enjoy... this is one of my absolute favorite cookies. It wouldn't be Christmas without them. :D

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Step By Step: 

There are many SOLO fillings. Choose the ones you like. My favorites are almond, prune, apricot and poppy seed.

I doubled the recipe and broke it into 4 dough balls. I was hoping to use all four different flavors of fillings. I used only three though.

Rolled out, cut into diamonds and put filling onto them. This is the apricot.

Fold edges over, wrapping baby in the blanket.

Here's how I cut them straight. The ruler is about one inch wide. So, I cut a bit wider than the ruler. It's not rocket science... :) Continue to gather up extra pieces of dough and re-roll out and cut again. Remember to dust the rolling pin with flour so the dough doesn't just stick all over it. And keep cookies on the small side. Thicker dough cracks. Too much filling runs all over the cookie sheet and too large cookies mean you just don't get much from your recipe.

Poppy seed, apricot and almond. Where's the hot tea? :) Merry Christmas Everyone!

Chocolate Pecan Thumbprints

15th cookie in my Christmas Cookie series

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg yolk (save the white, see below)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 egg white, beaten, for dipping

3/4 cup finely chopping pecan for coating

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, for filling thumbprints

1 Tablespoon butter

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Directions:

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add in egg yolk and vanilla. When well blended, add flour.

Chill for at least two hours, or until firm.

Heat oven to 325*F.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Dip balls into beaten egg white, then into pecans pieces, to coat. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. With the end of a wooden spoon, make a 1/2 inch indentation into each cookie ball.

Bake 10 minutes. Press again into the indentations with the spoon handle. Bake 10-15 minutes more, or until the pecans are golden brown. Allow to cool before filling.

Melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 Tablespoon butter. Stir until smooth. Spoon a little into each cookie indentation, let cool and harden. 

After scooping the cookies, I dip them into egg whites then into pecans. Then onto the cookie sheet.

I don't know if you can see them, but there are indentations in the cookies. They are baked and cooling now.

Melting butter and chocolate chips for filling.

The chocolate is not pourable, but it is spoon-able. I've picked up a spoonful and then push it off the spoon with the knife. Allow to cool and firm up before boxing them up.

Doesn't chocolate always look scrumptious? Is your mouth watering yet? Enjoy!

Peanut Santa Cookies

14th cookie in my Christmas Cookie Series.

Just silly and cute. I use them more for decoration than as an actual Christmas Cookie.

12 oz. white chocolate for dipping

1 16oz. package of Nutter Butter cookies

Red sugar

white chocolate chips

miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

red hot candies

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Directions:

Dip cookies into white chocolate and then into red sugar to create the hat. Allow to harden. Slipping the tray into the fridge really speeds things up. Then dip the other side into white chocolate to create the beard. Allow to harden. Then decorate as the picture shows.

The original recipe calls for dipping each little candy piece into the melted white chocolate and then attaching. I find it MUCH easier and faster to put a dot of royal icing and then putting candies on. I've shown both here, you choose whichever works better for you.

White chocolate chip is Santa's hat puff.

Two miniature chocolate chips as eyes.

One red hot as his mouth.

I even played this time at making snowmen. That was fun. I just dipped far enough on both sides that it covered the cookie completely. Let the kids help. You never know what they'll come up with!

Have fun! :D

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Step By Step:

Gather supplies...

Dip one end into the melted white chocolate. Feel free to scrape some off the bottom. What's on top and sides will ooze down anyways. If you leave too much on, it puddles on the paper and doesn't look as nicely shaped. I just scrape the bottom across the plastic chopstick I'm using as a stir, as I pull it up out of the chocolate.

After the first dip into the chocolate, it goes into the red sugar. Now, I won't say dip. If you shove the wet chocolate into the sugar, the sugar pushes the chocolate up. I lay the wet cookie tip into the sugar and then pull sugar up over the cookie with the edge of a spoon. Then shake it off a tad and back onto the paper.

After a short stint in the fridge to chill the melted chocolate, I dip the other side. This is the beard side of Santa.

Once the tray is done, back into the fridge for 5 minutes.

Here is where I try dripping little amounts of melted chocolate off the coffee stir onto Santa's face for eyes and mouth. Messy and uncontrollable, for the most part. And time consuming.

Now put on face...

White chip for Santa's hat puff....

Here's MY preferred method. Royal icing in a pastry bag. Boink, boink, boink. Fast, easy, much more direct. Right where I want them, a precise amount.

Jonathan helping to attach chips and red hots. Things are more fun and go faster with an extra set of hands. 

Aren't those cute and silly? LOL!