Pistachio Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Cranberries and pumpkins are so synonymous with Thanksgiving, don't you think? I  had cranberries to unload. Sure I can just gobble them up in a go but I thought I would rather use it in a batch of cookies and enjoy this delicious tart sweet fruits longer. The pretty colours of bright gorgeous green of the pistachios and deep magenta red of the cranberries are so attention-grabbing that you could use this colour combination during your Christmas food preparation as well. The dough can be prepared in advance and kept up to a month in the freezer. The night before you are gonna bake them, simply place them in the fridge section. The next day, cut the cookie dough log into slices and bake. As simple as that! 

​Ingredients (for 48 roughly 1.5inch cookies)
175gm butter, softened 
​80gm brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
220gm plain flour
75gm cranberries, chopped
​50gm pistachios, chopped

Method
​1) Mix the softened butter with the vanilla essence and brown sugar granules, using a wooden spoon.

2) Add in the flour and give it another mix using the same wooden spoon.

3) Add in the cranberries and pisctachios now. You may have to get your hands all doughy and messy here. Use your fingers to incorporate everything well. Just look at these gorgeous colours! 

4) Mix well and then separate the dough into two on a rolling board. At this point, switch on your oven to 180 deg C.

5) Roll each dough into logs. Cling wrap them and freeze the logs if you are going to use them later. 

6) You can either just slice them into roughly irregular circular discs or if you want perfect circles or other designs, use cooker cutters. If the dough is too soft, place it in the freezer for 10 mins.

​I used a scone cutter to cut out some almost perfect circular cookies. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut them out. 

7) Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins at the most. 

8) Enjoy with a light tea because as we all know these yummy shortbread babies are not exactly that light!!