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Get ready to add a festive touch to your holiday cookie plate with these delightful cranberry pistachio wreath cookies! The combination of tart cranberries, crunchy pistachios, and a zesty lemon glaze creates a flavor combination everyone loves. The tart lemon taste of the icing has to be my favorite part! Because they’re so good, making these wreath cookies is a tradition I’m only too happy to continue. Whether you’re gifting them to friends or sharing them with family, these easy-to-make cookies will spread joy and cheer with every bite.
These cranberry lemon pistachio cookies are so pretty. But they’re also simple to whip up. Make extra because they’re great festive gifts.
Also try gumdrop nougat, Starbucks copycat cranberry bliss bars, crinkle Grinch cookies or, for something savory, an antipasto Christmas tree.
Why You’ll Love It
So delicious: The combination of lemon, pistachios and cranberries is such a tasty one.
Pretty cookies: These cookies are really pretty with their snow-like white frosting and green and red toppings.
Versatile: Whip them up for a Christmas cookie tray, make some to gift to friends and neighbors, or tie ribbon through them and hang them on the Christmas tree.
Cranberry Pistachio Wreaths Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All purpose flour: Plus a little extra for your work surface.
Granulated sugar: For sweetness.
Lemon zest and lemon juice: Fresh is best, of course!
Pistachios: Choose unsalted nuts and toast and chop them.
Icing sugar: Also called confectioner’s sugar and powdered sugar. This ensures sweetness and a smooth frosting consistency.
Dried cranberries: Chop them up coarsely.
How to Make Cranberry Pistachio Wreath Cookies
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Prepare the cookie dough: Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream the unsalted butter and granulated sugar and then add the lemon zest, vanilla and egg yolks. Now mix in the flour mixture. Shape the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
Cut out the cookies and bake them: Roll out the dough and use a pair of cookie cutters (one large and one small) to cut out wreaths. Arrange them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat oven and bake until golden and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Frost and decorate the cookies: Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Dip the cookies in the icing and sprinkle on the chopped unsalted pistachios and cranberries.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use gluten-free flour.
Cranberries: Substitute dried cherries for a similar look but slightly different flavor. Just chop them up a bit if they’re too big.
Pistachios: Chopped almonds would work instead or chopped mixed nuts. Even chopped walnuts.
Colored frosting: Add food coloring to color the frosting. If you’re not using pistachios, light green would look festive.
Edible flowers: If you want to make these extra fancy, why not add some edible flowers? (These are really pretty and also great for garnishing anything from a salad to a dessert!)
Serving Suggestions
As a morning or afternoon snack: Pair the cookies with a Santa’s hat cocktail or iced gingerbread latte.
As part of a cookie platter: Serve them with black and white cookies, cranberry orange cookies, and church window cookies.
After a festive meal: After a feast of cranberry cream cheese stuffed flank steak with garlic parmesan baby potatoes and bacon green bean bundles, these wreath cookies are perfect!
How to Store Christmas Wreath Cookies
Store: Keep the lemon wreath cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Freeze: You can freeze these in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Put parchment paper in between each cookie.
Thaw: Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for an hour or so.
Top Tips
Time saver: Buy shelled pistachios instead of having to shell your own.
Tree ornaments: Since the cookies are wreath-shaped, why not tie some ribbon or string around them and hang a few on your Christmas tree?
Decorating them: Make sure you add the pistachios and cranberries while the icing is still wet so they stick.
Pistachio Wreath Cookies FAQs
No, and that’s one of the best thing about these cranberry lemon cookies. You simply dip them into the icing once you’ve got the consistency right. No complicated frosting techniques involved!
I love using edible flowers for an even prettier presentation! Use less of the cranberries and pistachios if you’re going to try that. You might find edible flowers at a local farmers’ market. Some grocery stores carry them, or gourmet food stores. Don’t shop in the florist section! You never know what’s been sprayed with pesticides and other things you don’t want on your cranberry pistachio wreath cookies.
Pistachio Cranberry Wreath Cookies Recipe
Cranberry Pistachio Wreath Cookies
Equipment
- 2½-Inch Fluted Cookie Cutter or round
- 7/8-Inch Round Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- ¾ Cup cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ Teaspoon salt
- ½ Cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ Cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 5 Teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 2 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ Cups icing sugar
- 1 Cup pistachios, shelled, unsalted, toasted and coarsely chopped
- ½ Cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flour mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2½-inch round fluted cutter, cut out wreaths. Cut out centers of wreaths using a 7/8-inch round cutter.
- Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake until just golden, about 12 minutes.
- Let cool completely on wire racks.
- Stir together icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Dip surface of each cookie in icing, and sprinkle with pistachios and cranberries.
Notes
Tree ornaments: Since the cookies are wreath-shaped, why not tie some ribbon or string around them and hang a few on your Christmas tree?
Decorating them: Make sure you add the pistachios and cranberries while the icing is still wet so they stick.
Nutrition
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I’m terrible at cookies that need rolled out. Would these work as drop cookies with the icing drizzled over them?
Hi, no that wouldn’t work for this recipe, as the dough is too stiff for drop cookies. But try the recipe because they’re pretty easy and anyway homemade cookies are always better when they aren’t quite perfect looking! Enjoy
Pistachio is my favorite. And this is my new favorite cookie recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I made these yesterday and they are not only excellent but look beautiful! I used scalloped edge cutters and piped the icing on for more control. At the end I zigzagged extra icing lightly over the top to ensure the pistachios and cranberries stayed put. It looks like it’s interwoven with ribbon. My icing required 4 1/2 T of lemon juice instead of 2T. Great recipe! Thanks so much!
I bet the scallop was beautiful. I will need to look for that cookie cutter.
Excited to try these. All of my favorite flavors, and so pretty! But I notice that your pistachios are green. Mine are just brown inside and out. Not nearly as pretty as yours. Any suggestions?