These gluten free cranberry pistachio slice and bake cookies are soft and tender with a subtle chewiness around the edges. Sweet white chocolate, tart dried cranberries, and orange zest yield a delicious balance of festive flavors while a coating of finely chopped pistachios on the outside adds a delicate nuttiness. The make-ahead dough and slice and bake method makes these gluten free cookies perfect for holiday baking!
Gluten Free Cranberry Pistachio Slice & Bake Cookies for Easy Holiday Baking!
If you love baking for the holidays, but want something that is equal parts festive and easy, you have to try these gluten free cranberry pistachio slice and bake cookies! I took my go-to gluten free sugar cookie dough and tossed in some orange zest, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. I shape the dough into logs then roll them in finely chopped pistachios so that each bite is a delicious combination of sweet, tart, citrusy, and nutty.
These gluten free slice and bake cookies are lightly chewy around the endges with soft and tender centers. The dough has to chill before being baked which makes them a convenient make-ahead option – just don’t chill the dough longer than 3 days! I love that I don’t have to break out the rolling pin and cookie cutters for these but they still feel festive and special enough for the holidays. These gluten free cranberry pistachio cookies are perfect for Christmas cookie boxes, gifting, holiday gatherings, and simply having around to pair with a cup of coffee or tea.
JUMP STRAIGHT TO:
- Key Ingredients and the Best GF Flour Blend to Use
- Tips for Avoiding a Dry and Crumbly Texture
- How to Mix, Slice, and Bake These Cookies
- More Festive Holiday Cookies to Try
Key Ingredients and the Best Gluten Free Flour Blend to Use for these Cookies
I’ve made these cookies with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (not sponsored). Both work great and taste great but the Bob’s Red Mill will give you a slightly chewier texture here. If you decide to use another blend, I recommend using one that contains xanthan gum and I still recommend measuring out your flour by weight, not volume.
The dried cranberries, orange zest, and white chocolate chips are such a festive Christmas flavor combo. I recommend using sweetened dried cranberries (un-sweetened ones are a little too tart for these cookies in my opinion). If you’re not the biggest fan of white chocolate, you can use milk, dark, or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
Tips for Avoiding a Dry and Crumbly Texture
As is possible with a lot of gluten free baked goods, they can go from perfect to dry and crumbly if you’re not paying attention. Here’s how I avoid a dry and crumbly texture in these gluten free Christmas cookies:
- Add an extra egg yolk – This is one of my favorite tricks to use with cookie recipes! Adding an extra egg yolk adds a touch more richness to the cookie dough which helps keep it from drying out. It also acts as an extra binder which helps prevent the cookies from being crumbly and lends a subtle chewiness.
- Avoid overbaking – during testing I always bake batches at varying times to see what the difference is in terms of taste and texture. Overbaking can be detrimental to gluten free baked goods because it has a tendency to make them extra crumbly. For these gluten free cranberry pistachio cookies, you want to look for the point at which they’re just showing a hint of golden color and the tops of the cookies no longer look shiny. This is between 12-15 minutes depending on your oven.
- Don’t overmeasure the flour — I cannot stress this enough in any of my gluten free baked goods! That’s why I always include the measurement in grams. Adding too much flour makes the dough drier which yields a dry and more crumbly cookie.
How to Mix, Slice, and Bake These Gluten Free Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
These gluten free slice and bake cookies start just like any other cookie that uses the creaming method. You’ll cream the butter, sugar, and orange zest together, then add in the egg, extra yolk, and vanilla. While the mixer does it’s thing, whisk the dry ingredients together. Then, add the dry to the wet.
I like to toss the cranberries and white chocolate chips in a little bit of flour before adding them to the cookie dough. It definitely helps them incorporate a little easier. After mixing them into the dough, you’ll divide it into two equal pieces and rolls them into logs. Then, you can roll each log in the finely chopped pistachios until it is fully coated.
Wrap each log in plastic wrap (or your preferred wrap) amd place the dough in the fridge to chill at least 2 hours. You can chill the dough for up to 3 days but I don’t recommend doing it for much longer than that or it will start to dry out. When you’re ready to bake, use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Place the slices on a lined baking sheet and bake until the tops of the cookies are no longer shiny, they have puffed slightly, and you’re just beginning to see a tinge of golden color around the edges.
More Festive Holiday Cookies to Try
The holidays wouldn’t be complete in my house without several different types of cookies! If you’re leaning more traditional, go with these vegan and gluten free ginger molasses cookies. I used to sell these at the farmers market and they were always a hit! These gluten free chocolate cardamom crinkle cookies are a new favorite this year – rich, fudgy, and so dang good. Love chocolate and mint together? Go with these gluten free chocolate peppermint coconut macaroons.
Gluten Free Cranberry Pistachio Slice & Bake Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 26–28 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Description
These gluten free cranberry pistachio slice and bake cookies are soft and tender with a subtle chewiness around the edges. Sweet white chocolate, tart dried cranberries, and orange zest yield a delicious balance of festive flavors while a coating of finely chopped pistachios on the outside adds a delicate nuttiness. The make-ahead dough and slice and bake method makes these gluten free cookies perfect for holiday baking!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raw pistachios
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons orange zest, from 1 medium orange
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 2 ¼ cups (270 grams) gluten free measure for measure flour, plus a little extra for tossing with the dried cranberries
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅔ cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
- ⅔ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the pistachios to a food processor. Process until very finely chopped, then set aside for now.
- Add the butter, sugar, and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium low for 2-3 minutes until creamy. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and paddle then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix on low until combined and creamy.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients. Toss the chopped cranberries and white chocolate chips with 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of the gluten free flour until they are coated. Once the cookie dough is mostly combined, add the chopped cranberries and white chocolate chips. Mix until evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Divide the cookie dough into two equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then form and shape it into a log that is about 7 1/2 inches long. Place the finely chopped pistachios on a small sheet pan or large plate. Roll each log in the finely chopped pistachios until evenly coated. Wrap each log in plastic or parchment and chill for at least two hours, or up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice off and discard the very ends of each log, then use a sharp knife to cut the logs into ¼-inch thick slices. Place the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets at least one inch apart.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until they are just turning golden around the edges and the tops of the cookies are no longer shiny. Avoid overbaking as it will make these dry and crumbly!
- Cool the baked cookies for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
You don’t have to worry about overmixing the cookie dough since we’re working with gluten free flour.
I HIGHLY recommend measuring the flour with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff up the gluten free flour with a spoon, then spoon it into your measuring cups, overfilling past the top. Use something flat to level off the flour, scraping the excess back into the bag.
Both the King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour and the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour yield delicious and reliable results. If you use a different blend, make sure it contains xanthan gum.
Tip for chopping the cranberries – spray the blade of your knife lightly with cooking spray. It will help keep the cranberries from sticking as much while chopping
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chilling Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
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