Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies are a must-make cookie for the holidays. They’re light, softly crunchy, and buttery sweet. You just can’t go wrong with something described as buttery sweet!
I adapted this recipe from one I shared back in 2010 called pecan snowball cookies. I was going to do a recipe re-do where I updated the photos in the original post. However, before I knew it, my brain was adding the festive red and green elements of pistachios and dried cranberries, and omitting the pecans altogether. The result is utterly delicious. I do hope you’ll make these Buttery Sweet Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies. I know you’ll love them just as much as we do!
The ingredients you’ll need to make these Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies are; butter, confectioners sugar, all-purpose flour, vanilla, salt, chopped pistachios, and dried cranberries. Simple, and yet oh so wonderful!
When I was little, my mom used to make the pecan snowball cookies I spoke of earlier, but she used to roll them into half-moon crescent shapes and called them pecan crescent cookies. When I was newly married (many crescent moons ago) I made my pecan cookies into crescent shapes, too. It’s not that the crescent shapes are hard to make, it’s just that they’re a little more labor intensive, and during the holidays every moment counts. Hence the easy round snowball shapes.
When making cookies (any cookies), it’s important to soften the butter to room temperature before starting, so the butter is soft to the touch and easily pliable. Softened butter is ideal for creaming with sugar. If you’ve been baking a lot of cookies this season, you’ll notice almost every cookie recipe starts with the creaming of softened butter with some form of sugar or sweetener.
This recipe for Buttery Sweet Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies calls for three sticks of butter. I always use salted butter in my baked goods because I feel the tiny pinch of salt in salted butter will in no way make baked goods overly salty. It just doesn’t happen. I know my opinion on choosing salted butter when baking goes against the norm these days, but what can I say? I’m a rebel that way! LOL
If you’re ready to make Buttery Sweet Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies, let’s begin…
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream 3 sticks of softened butter along with 1 cup of confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and cream.
Add 1 cup of shelled, chopped pistachios and 1 cup of dried cranberries. Stir. Add 2½ cups of all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix well to combine.
Roll the cookie dough into approximately 1″ round balls and place them on a parchment lined (optional) baking sheet. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 20-22 minutes. Cool the cookies completely before sprinkling with confectioners sugar.
- 3 sticks butter softened to room temperature (I use salted butter)
- 1 cup confectioners sugar plus additional for dusting
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pistachios
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
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Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
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Cream together the softened butter and 1 cup confectioners sugar.
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Add the vanilla and mix.
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Add the chopped pistachios, cranberries, salt, and all-purpose flour.
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Mix until thoroughly combined.
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Roll the cookie dough into 1" balls and place on parchment lined (optional) baking sheets.
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Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden brown.
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Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.
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Once the cookies are completely cool, sprinkle them liberally with confectioners sugar.
Tools and equipment:
baking sheets
parchment paper (optional)
stand mixer or hand mixer
large bowl
measuring spoons
measuring cups
spatula
cutting board and chef's knife (for chopping pistachios)
fine mesh sieve (for dusting cookies) (optional)
I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe for Buttery Sweet Pistachio Cranberry Snowball Cookies as much as I’ve enjoyed bringing it to you. Should you have any questions regarding this recipe, or anything else you see on my site, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly or leave me a comment in the comment section below.
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Kudos Kitchen by Renée ~ Where food, art, and fun collide each and every day!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!
Mark G
Tuesday 26th of December 2017
I'll say first hand that these taste great!!
Renée
Tuesday 26th of December 2017
This makes me SO happy! Thank you very much, Mark G!!!