Cranberry Pistachio Lace Cookies Recipe

I am someone who likes to eat Christmas cookies, but not necessarily make them myself. I’m so lucky to have a sister-in-law who sends me a box of goodies every year, because otherwise I’d probably go cookie-less. Growing up, it was my grandmother who would always send us home with a tin full of Christmas snacks, one of which was her famous fudge which neither my mom or I have ever been able to replicate. If I ever get it right I will consider it a miracle.

I discovered these cookies a few years ago, and after making them once, I knew they’d be a part of my Christmas tradition, and so far are the only Christmas cookies I make. I wish I could mail them as a gift, but unfortunately, they would never make it without shattering into bits and pieces.

I wanted to show you these earlier so you would have had time to make them for your holiday parties, but well, I had finals, and then immediately went back to work between semesters. (Oh, and I was reading the Hunger Games books.)  And who says you can’t make these any time of year? Maybe for your New Year’s party? I suspect these would be excellent with a glass of Champagne, but really what doesn’t go with Champagne?

Cranberry Pistachio Lace Cookies Recipe

Adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

Notes: I used unsalted pistachios and shelled them myself because they’re just a lot less expensive. I think salted pistachios would probably taste great in this recipe and would make a nice sweet/salty snack. Also, the recipe didn’t call for the cranberries to be chopped, but I did anyway to spread them out a bit more. Also, that fancy green thing I used to chop the pistachios is a double-bladed mezzaluna. I picked it up at T.J. Maxx a few years ago, and it came with a cutting board with that has a little bowl on one side. It is absolutely perfect for chopping nuts and herbs. Here’s the link to it if you’re interested. It really has been a great thing to have in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325° F/162° C, placing the the racks on the top and bottom 2/3 of the oven. Melt the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Add the flour, oats, and salt to the pot, stirring to combine. Then add the chopped cranberries and pistachios, stirring until everything is evenly distributed. Grease two cookie sheets, or put parchment paper on two cookie sheets, making sure its flat and not coming up at the sides. (If you use parchment paper, it will be easier to get the cookies off the pan.)

Drop teaspoon amounts of the batter onto the cookie sheets, with three inches between cookies. For me, I could fit six per sheet. (The cookies will spread out, so don’t crowd them, or they will run into each other.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom/bottom to top halfway through baking, until the cookies look a shade darker than the batter. After taking out of the oven, let sit on the pan for a minute or so to finish setting, then lift the parchment paper off and let finish cooling on the paper on a wire rack or the counter. If using a greased cookie sheet, use a metal spatula to lift the cookies after a minute or so and put onto a flat surface. If they’re still bending a lot when you try to pick them up, they’re not ready to come off the cookie sheet yet, and give them a few more seconds until they’re more set.

Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag to maintain crispiness.

Enjoy!

If you tried making these delicious Pistachio Lace Cookies at home, let me know how you did and if you enjoyed them in the comments below.