These gluten free pistachio cranberry cookies have chunks of chewy white chocolate with pistachio and cranberry interspersed throughout. They are easy to make, and a delight to eat any day of the year!
Gluten free cranberry pistachio cookies are the perfect treat for anyone with a gluten intolerance.
Made with delicious ingredients such as all purpose gluten free flour blend, unsalted butter, brown and white sugar, and dried cranberries and pistachios, these cookies are a great way to enjoy a sweet treat without worrying about gluten sensitivities.
They’re also easy to make; simply mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another before combining them all together. The result is a scrumptious cookie that’s bursting with flavor from the pistachios, tartness from the cranberries and sweetness from the white chocolate.
Enjoy them fresh out of the oven for a truly indulgent experience! This recipe is based on Kat's recipe in the Baked to Perfection cookbook.
The ultimate Gluten Free Christmas cookie
With their festive look, red, green and white colors, and incredible texture, these cookies make for a classic gluten-free Christmas treat! After all, it's the best time of the year to eat cookies - and this is one of my favorite cookie recipes for the holidays!
Serve them as part of a flourless Christmas cookie platter with white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, Christmas date cookies recipe, Christmas white chocolate bark, almond tuile cookies and so much more! In recent years, I started adding thes gluten free peanut butter cookies to my Christmas cookie roundup. They're often the first to go!
If you eat gluten, my kid loves these thumbprint cookies and these Berlinerkranser Norwegian Christmas cookies. Find more gluten free cookie recipes you love.
Top baking tips for easy to make gluten-free cranberry pistachio cookies
There are a few secrets to attaining perfectly textured, chewy cookies are gluten-free every. single. time - and I'm here to reveal them to you!
Mix white and brown sugar in your cookies
Brown sugar gives these red and green cookies a special sweetness, and a depth of flavor from the molasses. If you use just white sugar, your cookies could be a bit dry.
Melt your butter
By melting the butter, you're preventing it from making your cookies rise further, thus avoiding a cakey texture in your cookies.
Combine baking soda with baking powder
Baking soda helps neutralize the acid in the cookies, and both together serve to lift the cookies and give them that beautiful rise around the crispy edges, while maintaining a chewy center.
Chill the cookie dough
This helps solidify the fat in the cookies, preventing them from spreading too much during baking and becoming flat.
Why I think You’ll Love these Pistachio Cranberry Cookies
- They are red, green and white, and these Christmas colors are just so pretty!
- Their texture is beautifully chewy
- Their edges are lacey and crispy
- There is plenty of white chocolate in them!
- They are nutty
- They have the perfect balance of tart and sweet
Ingredients for Gluten Free Pistachio Cookies
- gluten free flour blend - I recommend using a gluten free blend that has xanthan gum and a proper blend of gluten free grains like rice flour and starches like tapioca or arrowroot.
- unsalted butter, melted - use vegan butter or regular butter in these cookies for the perfect fudgy texture.
- brown sugar - brown sugar gives these pistachio cranberry cookies better texture and a golden brown color. If using white sugar only, reduce the flour by ¼ cup.
- white sugar - feel free to sweeten with a sugar replacement that is granulated.
- egg - crucial to these cookies - I haven't tried not using them.
- vanilla extract - unsweetened vanilla extract adds a nice layer of flavor to the cookies, but it's not totally necessary.
- xanthan gum - xanthan gum mimics the binding action of gluten, and it's better to double down on this (I use it even if my mix already has some in it)
- baking soda - used in conjunction along with baking powder to give these white chocolate cookies with cranberries and pistachios a tender texture.
- gluten free baking powder - don't skip this or you'll end up with flat discs instead of cookies!
- salt - you can use any salt you like.
- white chocolate chips - they keep their shape white chopped white chocolate melts, but you can skip them if desired.
- white chocolate, chopped - SO IMPORTANT! The chocolate bar melts, leaving you with streaks of gooey white chocolate in the center of the cookies. But if all you have are chocolate chips, that's totally fine too.
- pistachios, toasted - toasted unsalted pistachios are at the heart of these Pistachio Cookies.
- cranberries, dried - you can sub these for raisins or even cherries if you're not a fan of cranberries, but I love their tartness.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools You’ll Need to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
1 Standing mixer optional
kitchen scale optional
How to Make White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies – Step by Step
Mix wet ingredients
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or a reusable silicone mat.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, white and brown sugar both. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
Mix dry ingredients
Stir together in a small bowl the dry ingredients (except chocolates, pistachios and cranberries). Add in batches to the wet ingredients, stirring well until a heavy dough forms.
Fold in mix-ins
Fold in white chocolate chips, half the chopped white chocolate, chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. Mix well.
Chill cookie dough
Transfer dough onto the fridge for 1 hour, or until the next day.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 320 fahrenheit.
Shape cookies into balls
Using a medium cookie scoop or using wet hands, shape the cookie dough into even balls. Arrange balls on 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Bake cranberry pistachio cookies
Transfer to the oven to bake 12-17 minutes (13 will give you very fudgy cookies, while 16 will give you crispier cookies).
Tap cookies on counter
PRO TIP: Midway through the baking process, tap the cookie sheet 5-7 times to make the treats flat. Utilize a cookie cutter of a larger diameter than your cookies and gently nudge it around the edges for a more symmetrical round shape with precise edges. This is all the time to press the leftover white chocolate chunks into the top of the cookies!
Finish baking cookies
Return cookies to the oven to finish baking. Tap the tray on the counter again when they come out.
Chill on drying rack
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. If you can't wait for the cookies to cool, snag one as they come out of the oven!
What to do if the Cookie Dough Looks Crumbly?
Gluten free cookie dough can be crumbly for a few reasons: lack of moisture, improperly milled flour, and overbaking the cookies.
If your pistachio cookie dough is looking dry and crumbly, attempt to add more butter or egg. It's important not to skip the additional egg yolk in the recipe - it's one of the keys to this great recipe!
Also, try checking on your cookies after 13 minutes in the oven. 13 minutes will give you softer pistachio white chocolate cookies with a fudgy texture; 14-15 minutes will give you what I consider the best texture - a bit of softness in the middle, but crisp around the edges; and 16-17 minutes is the secret spot that crunchy cookie lovers will enjoy the most.
Variations
- Sugar-Free pistachio cranberry Cookies - substitute the brown and white sugar in the recipe for equivalent non-sugar sweeteners, like Swerve or Splenda. Keep in mind they may taste a bit sweeter than traditional sugar.
- Gluten free Cherry pistachio cookies - Don’t love cranberries? Add chunks of dried cherry instead of cranberries to these cookies.
- Use walnuts instead of pistachios for cranberry walnut cookies.
- Add a touch of pumpkin pie spice to these cookies for an autumnal feel.
- Pistachio cranberry ice cream sandwiches - I love these cookies, but I love the combo of cookies and ice cream even more! Layer some vanilla ice cream between two cookies and freeze them for 30 minutes.
When I am craving something more chocolatey, I make a batch of chocolate cherry cookies, to boot!
FAQ
Yes! You can make the batter and chill it overnight before baking. You can also shape the cookies and let them cool overnight. It's really up to you!
Coconut oil isn't great for cookies, as it doesn't get as solid as butter! If you're looking for a vegan pistachio cookie, try using plant-based butter instead. However, if all you have is coconut oil, try adding just a bit less at first, adding more coconut oil until you're happy with the texture.
Absolutely! I love to freeze them unbaked, and that way I can bake a cookie or two every time a craving hits. But you can also freeze the cookies fully baked, and just eat them straight out of the freezer for a cross between ice cream and cookies!
Nope. Fresh cranberries have more moisture than dried cranberries, and they will change the texture of your cookies. But if you're looking for a tart flavor, try naturally dried cranberries that don't have sugar added.
You can store these white chocolate cookies in an airtight container outside the fridge for 1 week. You can store them in the fridge for even longer.
I personally don't like doing this! I prefer to roll the cookie inside a cookie cutter halfway through the bake, and bang the baking sheet slightly
If your cookie dough turned out too thin, follow the steps outlined in this guide for how to thicken cookie dough.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
More Christmas Recipes:
Recipe
Tried and loved this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below! Your reviews mean a lot to me, so if you've got any questions, please let me know in a comment.
Gluten Free cranberry pistachio cookies
Equipment
- 1 Standing mixer optional
- kitchen scale optional
Ingredients
- 100 g unsalted butter (¼ cup + 3 tbsp) melted
- 120 g brown sugar (½ cup + 2 tbsp)
- 70 g white sugar (⅓ cup)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend (240 g) scoop the flour into the measuring cup for an accurate weigh
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips (50 g)
- 50 g white chocolate chopped, divided
- ¼ cup pistachios chopped and toasted
- ¼ cup cranberries dried
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or a reusable silicone mat.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, white and brown sugar both. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
- Stir together in a small bowl the dry ingredients (except chocolates, pistachios and cranberries). Add in batches to the wet ingredients, stirring well until a heavy dough forms.
- Fold in white chocolate chips, half the chopped white chocolate, chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. Mix well.
- Transfer dough onto the fridge for 1 hour, or until the next day.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 320 fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or using wet hands, shape the cookie dough into even balls. Arrange balls on 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Transfer to the oven to bake 12-17 minutes (13 will give you very fudgy cookies, while 16 will give you crispier cookies).
- PRO TIP: Midway through the baking process, tap the cookie sheet 5-7 times to make the treats flat. Utilize a cookie cutter of a larger diameter than your cookies and gently nudge it around the edges for a more symmetrical round shape with precise edges. This is all the time to press the leftover white chocolate chunks into the top of the cookies!
- Return cookies to the oven to finish baking. Tap the tray on the counter again when they come out.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. If you can't wait for the cookies to cool, snag one as they come out of the oven!
Gen says
What a delicious flavor combo! Pistachios are my absolute favorite and they pair so so well with cranberries and white chocolate. Just delicious - thank you!
Kris says
These are super yummy! The whole family enjoyed them. Will make again. 🙂
Lisa says
These were so delicious that no one even knew they were gluten-free. I also loved that they had a beautiful natural color.
Shelby says
Ah, white chocolate plus cranberries is the best! And these cookies come out so chewy they're hard tor resist!
Traci says
I love that I was able to take these to a party and everyone was jealous! People were floored that these were dairy free and gluten free!
Maria says
Oh my, these cookies are such a treat! The pistachios, cranberries, and white chocolate may be the best flavor combo ever. I do have a question, this recipe uses melted butter, should I be doing that for other cookies recipes too?