Just for Something Different — Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

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Cooling down

Yesterday I made cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies. The kind of cookies my grandma Olive would’ve made to serve at a ladies’ luncheon. (Although, her cookies would’ve have contained dates because dried cranberries weren’t available until the 1980s.) Her luncheon would’ve been written up on the society page of the local paper. The kind of write-up they don’t do anymore, unless it’s about someone famous. It would’ve sounded something like this:

On Wednesday, May 6, Mrs. George Youngquist entertained the Presbyterian Women at a luncheon in her home. [Back in the day, a married woman’s first name was rarely mentioned in an article.] She served a variety of finger sandwiches, potato salad, and coleslaw, along with fruit punch. For dessert she served a variety of cookies, including her well-loved date-pistachio shortbread cookies, accompanied by coffee. In attendance were the group’s president, Mrs. Frank Smith; the secretary, Mrs. Grover Bost; and the treasurer, Mrs. Elmer Connors, along with nine other members. No church business was conducted. Mrs. Youngquist said, “The gathering was held to celebrate spring and to give the ladies a chance to visit with one another.“

As a child and for most of my adult life, had I been at that luncheon, I would’ve passed on the date cookies, no matter how well loved they were. I would’ve looked for a chocolate chip, peanut butter, or sugar cookie. But I’m of a certain age now, and I like to try new things, occasionally. (But in a crazy paradox, I’m not big on change.) So, a couple of months ago when I saw this recipe, along with a picture of the cranberry pistachio shortbread cookies, I decided I needed to bake them. After all, I do like cranberries and pistachios and shortbread.

I bought the dried cranberries and the shelled pistachios shortly after I came across the recipe, which was a couple of months ago. Yesterday I decided I needed to stop procrastinating and bake the cookies. It was a perfect day for baking. I spent most of the day writing, so baking cookies would get me off my backside. And it rained and stormed most of the day, ideal baking weather.

The production line

Why did it take me a couple of months to try the recipe? Fear of messing it up — because I’d never made this kind of cookie before. But once I started mixing, chilling, then later baking, I discovered this simple recipe produces scrumptious cookies that look sophisticated, like the kind served at a luncheon or with high tea.

The two sticks of butter used in the recipe make the cookies melt in my mouth, releasing bursts of cranberry and orange, making my mouth tingle. They pair well with coffee. However, I will have to find someone to share them with because my husband doesn’t like cranberries. He did try one, but he didn’t like it. I just couldn’t possibly eat all these cookies by myself.

What did I like about this recipe? It was easy! The cookies turned out so well that I fancied myself as a TV chef. The dough is rolled into a log before chilling, which makes it easy to slice the cookies for baking. Other recipes, like this one, call for the dough to be chilled in a ball then rolled out on a flat surface before using a round cookie cutter. But the log method is easier and less messy. Also, the log method keeps the baker from overhandling the dough. Best of all, I felt like I was in the kitchen baking with my grandma Olive.

What would I change? I’d use chopped walnuts or pecans instead of pistachios, which are harder than pecans and walnuts. Because when I had to slice the cookie dough, the chopped pistachios were difficult to cut through. I could use dried cherries because my husband likes those, but he doesn’t like walnuts or pecans. I could eliminate the nuts, but they add a savory taste.

My one goof? I only had a small orange. Having never zested an orange before, I had no idea how many it would take to make a tablespoon of zest. I ended up with 1/2 tablespoon, and while I can still taste the orange, I can’t help but wonder what the cookies would taste like if I’d used a whole tablespoon.

Here’s the recipe I used. Happy baking!

15 thoughts on “Just for Something Different — Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies”

  1. Beginning around Thanksgiving, I make a cranberry tea bread with orange peel, orange juice, walnuts, and fresh cranberries. That recipe is well over a hundred years old from Fannie Farmer. I’d be surprised if your mother used dried cranberries. They weren’t available when I was young—and I shopped at the Seattle Public Market shops where they sold every sort of dried fruit and berry—citron to kumquats, several kinds of raisin, pineapple, cherries, and real dried currants, which are almost never actual currants anymore. Anyway, the flavor profile is wonderful, as I know from experience.

    My mother objected when she was called Mrs. Arthur Henry Priddy. “As if I don’t exist.” But no one in my family would have found such a gathering noted in any newspaper. Probably my mother’s great aunts who were a different caste altogether.

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    • I didn’t mean to imply that my grandmother made the same cookies. I can see that my writing is vague. I meant to make the point that she made fancier cookies, along the lines of the ones I just made. It’s funny to think about it, but she had the plain ordinary cookies she made for her family, but she also had recipes for some fancy cookies that she would make for special occasions. My grandmother lived in a very small town. About forty miles away was a city, although, not a large one. The newspaper would print these small notices from people who lived in the very small towns surrounding the city. The notices would be written up by ordinary people and sent to the newspaper. It probably worked as a nice gimmick to get people to buy the paper. That particular paper still exists, but it’s a shell of its former self, and it could never afford to print the little society notices today.

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    • Hi Jan, I went back and tweaked my blog this morning, so it takes into consideration that dried cranberries weren’t around “back in the day.” I meant it to be those kind of cookies were the type my grandmother baked, but as I read through the blog, I made it sound like she actually baked those specific cookies. I loved that you let me know about when dried cranberries came out! Next time I’ll be more careful about that type of thing! This is what makes having a writing community so helpful.

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  3. Vickie, your story holds a 1/2 lb worth of baking experience! (one can’t go wrong with lots of butter). Good job for trying and being successful. I like how you added your thoughts under such titles as ‘what did I like about this recipe,’, ‘what would I change’ etc. Thank you for sharing your recipe and it is on my list to try very soon.

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    • I really like these cookies! It’s so funny because for most of my life, I would have ignored them on a buffet table and I wouldn’t have ever made them. My grandmother made fancy cookies with friut in them, but only for special occasions. For everyday eating, she had chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar cookies. I think my grandmother would’ve liked this recipe.

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      • The cookies you mentioned were stationary tea party delights. My paternal grandmother’s name was Olive as well. Perhaps they baked from the same recipes. (happy smiles)

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      • I really like the name Olive. Although, as a child I thought is was very old fashioned, just like the type of cookies she used to bake. If I’d been named after her I would’ve been upset, but now I think it would’ve been cool.

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