Cran-Pistachio Cookies
It’s DAY 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies over here at The Girl Who Ate Everything. These Cran-Pistachio Cookies caught my eye because not only are they different from any other cookie I’ve ever made, they’re green and red…perfect for a Christmas cookie plate.
These are easy enough that you could easily whip up a 7-8 dozen for a cookie exchange. Somehow I managed to complicate an easy recipe like this. What should have taken 5 minutes to prepare took…well…way longer. I accidently bought unshelled pistachio nuts and had to shell a whole bag! Don’t even ask how long that took…
Stay tuned for more Christmas cookies and grab a button so you don’t miss out on any cookies.
Cran-Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1 lb 1.5 ounce pouch) Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
- 1 box (4 serving size pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butter , melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup dry roasted salted pistachio nuts , chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries , chopped
- optional - green food coloring (I didn't add any but if you wanted them extra green you could)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In a large bowl stir cookie mix, unprepared pudding mix, and flour. Add melted butter and eggs and stir until incorporated.
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Add pistachios and cranberries and mix well.
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Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and slightly flatten with fingertips.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes. The only way you can ruin these cookies is to overbake them! If you bake them too long you will lose the soft texture and they won't be as green. They will not look done but take them out and let them sit on the pan for about 2 minutes. Trust me.
-
Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Recipe Notes
Source: Betty Crocker
Instant Pistachio Pudding is one of the only mixes that I buy and I love it so much! These definitely sound good! Though I’m a little unsure about the craisins, I’ll have to try it and see.
Those are soo pretty! That color is gorgeous 🙂
I LOVE pistachio pudding…seriously one of my favorites. These look AWESOME!!
Oh lord… LOVE Pistachios. Another cookie to add to the list for this year’s cookie extravaganza. And such festive colors, too!
I made pistachio cookies a while ago too, yours look really good! I love the color.
I totally wanted to make these when I saw them in Betty Crocker. I am glad to know that they are good!
The color is awesome, delicate and nice…easy recipe too
These look amazing, I love that they are Christmas colors, naturally!
These look really yummy – love the fun green color!
Susan http://www.ugogrrl.com
What festive looking cookies (although huge bummer on having to shell the pistachios!).
shelled pistachios are now available on line
Mmm pudding cookies are one of my favorite…they are so fluffy! I love the festive green and red in these cookies…yum yum!
Yummy!I saw these over at betty crocker too:) They look fab!:) Looking forward to all of the cookies to come!
What a stunning holiday recipe! Would you like to submit it to my contest to win a cookbook? Just wanting to share the holiday cheer (and exposure to your blog) Would love for you to win 🙂 http://ow.ly/3j61M
These are so pretty and cheery! Perfect for the holidays. I’m going out of town this weekend, but I will get you my post as soon as I can!
I’ve totally done that before – had to shell the pistachios by hand! But these cookies look like they would be worth it!
Such pretty colours!
I made those last weekend and they turned out delicious! The boyfriend usually doesn’t like sweets, but he loved those. I didn’t add any coloring and they were a very pretty shade of green. PS: In the list of ingredients you forgot the flour – 1/4 cup.
@Sophie,
Thanks girl for the catch! So glad you enjoyed them.
Christy
They are very nice!
I’m troubled. I’ve had my cookies in for 8 minutes, out for 5, in for 2 more, out for 30, in for 2 more and out for 2 more and they are still total mush. Is this because I’m using those hallow air-bake cookie sheets? Help please!
Jen
@Jen,
I don’t think the hallow air sheets should be causing that. Maybe too much butter or the wrong sized pudding? I’m not sure. Sorry.
I always try to do a test batch first to see what the cooking time may be because every oven varies.
Christy
I’ve made a bunch of these for a cookie swap tomorrow night. I hope the ladies like these as much as the guys I’ve had try them do! They’re delicious and sooo easy! Thanks for the recipe! Next, I’m going to try those hot chocolate cookies. =)
-Anne-Marie
I made these as part of my Christmas baking and they were my favorite cookie! I also sent some to my family and my brother stated they were also his favorite. Perfect color green (without any added coloring) and soft. Yum! I made them using a sugar cookie recipe instead of the pouch, I just tweaked the recipe a bit and it still came out fabulous. Thank you!
Oh, what an exquisite cookie! I love pistachios. I’m definitely going to try these 🙂
So are you supposed to make the pudding according to it’s directions on the box before adding it to the other ingredients? Might sound like a silly question but I’m making these with friends for a cookie swap so I can’t afford to have any mistakes.
@Kris,
Totally valid question. Just add the dry pudding mix. Do not prepare it. Good luck with your cookie swap!
Christy
Im thinking about making these this weekend, but was wondering if you thought I could substitute almonds for cranberries. Im not a frequent baker and have never made up my own recipes 🙂
@heather, I think the cranberries add a lot to these cookies- flavor and color. I’m afraid subbing almonds would be too many nuts since there are already pistachios in them. Good luck!
These are great! I also made them for a cookie exchange and added 1/2 cup white chocolate chips. Seriously. Delish.
Just took these out of the oven….Delicious!
Made these last Christmas and had to bake more before Christmas because they disappeared. Making them today. They are fantastic, very pretty, and everyone seems to like them.
I’ve got these in the oven now – and of course I’ve taste-tested the first ones that came out. I will say (and I intend to leave this feedback on the Betty Crocker Web site) that I love them, but next time (er, probably next Christmas) when I make them I think I’ll do 1/2 c of pistachio nuts and 1 c. of cranberries. They are a bit heavy on the nuts for me. Delicious, though!
Thank you so much for posting the recipe! They are so festive!! However, I too feel they are WAY too heavy on the nuts, next time I’ll definitely AT LEAST cut them down to 1/2 cup, if not less, however they are DELICIOUS!!!!
These are GREAT! I’ve had them in my Cookies folder since last year and needed some festive cookies for the people at my husband’s work. Like some of the other commenters said, my first reaction was that they’re heavy on the nuts, BUT I NEVER put nuts in my cookies so it was a nice change of pace and I really enjoy the flavor & texture! I’m betting they’ll be a hit! (Now I’m off to start mixing your eggnog cookies!)
As I was browsing on pinterest today, I found your Sisters Blog! What a treat! I’m making cookies today. All the recipes look so good!
XO
Eloise
It looks so nice! And it tastes so good!!
These look awesome. What size cookie pouch did you use because I’ve come across different sizes?
I found these also on Pinterest today, they look divine! However, I was wondering if you could make these a bit more natural without using the pre-packaged cookie mix and made a mix of your own? If so, what would you recommend the recipe be?
Shoot. I have no idea. I would have to experiment with that one.
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I just made these for a cookie swap and they taste good but they never really flattened out… they are rounded. What do you think caused that?
@Chris,
Was your butter completely melted? The temperature of your butter is a big factor in how flat or non-flat the cookies are. If the butter was melted but cooled they might be a little rounder. You can also flatten the dough with your fingers before baking.
Salted or unsalted butter?
I used unsalted because that’s what I usually bake with. The nuts are salted so you already have plenty of salt.
I am axious to make these cookies – can’t go wrong with cranberries and pistachios during the holidays. I was not able to locate dry roasted pistachios – I bought the regular, salted, shelled pistachios (no shelling for me!) Will there be a difference in the end result using these nuts versus dry roasted?
@Peggy, No, those will be perfect!
Thanks….I’m going into the kitchen right now to make them!
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Just made these cookies and they awesome not to sweet they are just right thanx
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I was just wondering if you mix any milk with the pudding first, or just just put the dry pudding mix in there??
Just dry pudding mix is what you want here.
These cookies are so pretty! Do you chill your cookie dough before baking?
I didn’t chill mine…
I made my first batch with the hopes they’d be as good as they look for a cookie exchange. They are delish and so easy to make. I can’t wait to see how my friends at work like them! Thanks.
Sick of seeing all these cheat recipes on Pinterest… Cake mix / cookie mix blah blah blah !
Then don’t make them if you are a domestic goddess with unlimited time on your hands. Keep your negative thoughts to yourself and consider some of us others who have crazy busy lives with no time to scratch bake. I tasted these cookies this weekend and felt INSPIRED to bake (normally not something I have time or desire to do) because they were delicious and EASY, so there!
Thanks Laurie!
This came just in time. A quick recipe for a cookie party. Everyone loved it.
Just made one batch of these… going to be making more! They are soooo delicious! They are the perfect green…. they will look beautiful for my holiday cookie plate!! =] Thank you so much for the great recipe!
Wow! These came out amazing! I used 1 cup of white chocolate chips and 1 tbs of shortening to make a white chocolate coating for the bottom of the cookies. They came out so yummy and the entire batch was gone at my christmas party. Thank you so much! These are the perfect holiday cookie !
Made these for Christmas and absolutely adored them! Beautiful and soft with great flavor.
So I’m gonna make them again tonight but substitute for Vanilla pudding and chocolate chips and see how they turn out.
I might put a little less chips since for me it felt like there were a lot of cran/pistachios and not enough pure cookie.
just made these. they were wonderful. i replaced some of the nuts with a couple handfuls of white chocolate chips and it made then very nice. a tip to tell if they are done for most people.. cookies often never look “done” when they actually are. One way to actually tell if they are ready is to watch them and when they stop having a glossy shine, they are done. this usually happens before they get any brown.
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Do these freeze well?
I haven’t tried but I’m sure they would.
If you added dried cherries instead of cranberries you could call them Spumoni cookies!
Totally!
I made these for a family cookie night and they were good good good. I also did a little less nuts, and didn’t add the coloring, as they were a beautiful green. I did think they might need a little more flour and I was wondering what homemade sugar cookie recipe that you have used?
These are going in the KEEP file for cookies, easy, yummy and a crowd pleaser. 🙂
Thanks!!
Angela,
I have a homemade sugar cookie on my site but it’s for a fluffy cookie. For a chewier cookie like a mix I love OurBEstBites version: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/12/sugar-cookies/
Thanks Christy!!! Happy Holidays! 🙂
Christy,
One more thing.. so you make the home made kind and just add the pudding… the ratios are the same?
THANKS AGAIN. 😉
I have no idea if the sugar cookie mix and the recipe I listed yield the same so I’m not sure. Sorry!
I added white chocolate chips and it tasted great! A girl’s gotta have chocolate.
I followed your recipe to the letter and I’m happy to say these came out so yummy and pretty. Thanks so much for sharing with us!!!
Made this cookie today. To die for!!! This is my new favorite Christmas Cookie!
Easy to make and delicious
so I noticed if you touch them when its time to take them out, they are mushy as if they arent done, but the harden after they cool off
Made these for a cookie exchange and everyone wants the recipe. This is now my husband’s favorite cookie! Next time I’m going to add a few white chocolate chips!
For clarification it would have helped if the mixes were described as prepared or unprepared. In your defense Betty Crocker herself was not any clearer other than you omitted the word mix after pudding in the directions. When I see the word mix in the preparation directions I assume unprepared. Love your wonderful website keep them recipes coming !
Thanks. I will try to make it clearer.
I made these and was so disappointed. I absolutely adore pistachio-flavored everything, and found these cookies rather mediocre–they tasted ok, but I actually didn’t eat more than a couple (which is a rarity for me). I’m not sure what it is about the recipe, but I definitely won’t be making these again.
I guess all tastebuds are different. Did you make sure not to overbake them? I think that makes all the difference between making this cookie amazing and mediocre.
Is the flour plain or self rising? I am never sure which one to use. Thanks. Judy
The flour is all-purpose. All the recipes on my site use all-purpose unless I state otherwise. Good luck!
These are my entire family’s favorite cookie!! I sub chocolate chips in for the cranberries (hubby doesn’t like them) and use roasted salted pistachios. The result is this amazing salty/sweet super soft cookie. I’ve made them about a dozen times, and the key truly is to take them out of the oven when you think they’re nowhere near done. Thanks for the recipe!!
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Made these for Mother’s day and shipped them to all my Moms/Grandmas. They loved them and so did I!
I featured them and your blog on my blog.
http://rehashedrewritten.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothers-day-pistachio-cranberry-cookies.html
You have lucky moms and grandmas.
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Silly question, maybe: how big should the “spoonfuls” of cookie dough be? Like a tablespoon worth or so?
I would do about 1-2 Tablespoons.
These cookies have become a go to for me the last two years for Christmas and everyone loves them! So easy and delicious!
I just discovered this recipe less than a week ago and I’ve already made it twice! So good!
Very good cookie, really watch this one browns fast, and they defiantly are prettier with no brown. I added 1 drop of food coloring would use 2 to 3 next time. Also chop the nuts and cranberries real good will make a prettier cookie also I think a little less nuts would be ok. Super easy.
Thanks for the tips and you’re right about the browning.
I finally made these this year. They are so wonderful!!!! I love everything about them. Good luck not eating them all before you store them!!
Thanks for commenting!
These are one of the best cookies I’ve ever made!
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Could i use my own sugar cookie recipe instead if the mix? Would it come out the same?
I haven’t tried it but I’m sure it would be similar.
I bought a Betty Crocker sugar cookie pouch but its 20% more at 1lb 5oz. But the recipe calls for 1lb 1.5 oz. How much do I need to keep out to make it work? I went to the store but all of the original Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix was out. Please help!
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Says cook time & prep time is 22 hrs 14 min. Ha ha not so. Aldo too dry to mis by hand. Had to add 1-2 Tbl water
Sorry. It’s a bug in the recipe plugin.
Super Delish!! A keeper
Thank you!
I made a video of this recipe, because I loved them so much! https://youtu.be/YVY2qxqvHog
Awesome!