This gluten free pistachio cranberry shortbread is one of my favorite cookie recipes to make. It’s buttery, crispy, and has the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
The pistachios add a nice crunch and the dried cranberries give each bite a little tartness. Together they make these shortbread rounds look really pretty too.
If you’ve been looking for a gluten free cookie that actually tastes like real shortbread, this is it. No weird textures, no strange aftertaste. Just a simple, classic butter cookie.
The recipe uses almond flour and tapioca starch instead of regular wheat flour. You honestly can’t tell the difference once they’re baked.
They come together quickly and you only need a handful of ingredients. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttery Texture – The combination of almond flour and tapioca starch creates a shortbread that is genuinely crisp and buttery, not crumbly or gritty like so many gluten free cookies tend to be.
Gorgeous When Sliced – The green pistachios and red cranberries scattered throughout each round make these cookies look absolutely stunning on a plate without any decorating or icing required.
No One Will Guess They’re Gluten Free – Almond flour adds a subtle richness that actually improves on traditional shortbread, so even your pickiest friends will be shocked when you tell them there is no wheat flour in these.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
- 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Shelled Pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
How to Make
Step 1
In a food processor, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine evenly.
Step 2
Add the cold butter cubes and vanilla extract. Pulse in short bursts until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and begins to clump together, about 15 to 20 pulses.
Step 3
Transfer the dough to a clean surface and fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries by hand, pressing and kneading gently until evenly distributed. Shape the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until very firm.
Step 4
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the chilled log into rounds about 1/3 inch thick and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 5
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. The centers may still look pale which is perfect.
Step 6
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool into a crisp, buttery shortbread.
My Tips
Keep the Butter Really Cold
Cold butter is what gives shortbread that crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture. If the butter gets warm and soft before baking, the dough will spread too much in the oven and you’ll end up with flat, greasy cookies instead of thick, snappy ones.
Cut the butter into small cubes and put them back in the fridge (or even the freezer for 10 minutes) right before you add them to the food processor. Work quickly when pulsing so the heat from the machine doesn’t warm everything up.
If at any point the dough feels greasy or sticky while you’re shaping the log, just pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes and come back to it.
Pulse the Food Processor – Don’t Run It
When you add the butter, use short pulses of about 1 second each instead of letting the food processor run continuously. If you hold the button down, the blade will generate heat and start melting the butter, and you’ll also overwork the dough.
You want to stop when the mixture looks like coarse, crumbly sand that clumps together when you squeeze a handful. It’s totally fine if you still see some small pea-sized butter pieces – those will melt in the oven and create little pockets of flakiness.
Fold in the Mix-Ins by Hand
Don’t add the pistachios and cranberries to the food processor. The blade will chop them into tiny bits and you’ll lose all that nice chunky texture that makes these cookies special.
Dump the dough onto your counter, scatter the pistachios and cranberries on top, and gently press and fold the dough over itself a few times until everything is spread throughout. Think of it like kneading bread, but way more gentle and only for about 30 seconds.
More Tasty Recipes
- Gluten Free Classic Shortbread Cookies
- Gluten Free Millionaire Shortbread Bars
- Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Loaf
- Gluten Free Cranberry White Chocolate Scones
- Gluten Free Linzer Cookies
FAQ
My cookies are crumbling apart – what went wrong?
This usually happens when the dough wasn’t pressed together firmly enough before chilling, or the butter wasn’t evenly incorporated. Almond flour doesn’t have gluten to bind things together, so you really need to knead the dough until it holds together in one solid piece with no dry or crumbly spots.
Another common reason is slicing the cookies too thin. Aim for a solid 1/3 inch thickness so they’re sturdy enough to handle. If your dough cracks while slicing, let it warm up on the counter for just a couple of minutes and try again.
Gluten Free Pistachio Cranberry Shortbread
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
- 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Shelled Pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine evenly.
- Add the cold butter cubes and vanilla extract. Pulse in short bursts until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and begins to clump together, about 15 to 20 pulses.
- Transfer the dough to a clean surface and fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries by hand, pressing and kneading gently until evenly distributed. Shape the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until very firm.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the chilled log into rounds about 1/3 inch thick and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. The centers may still look pale which is perfect.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool into a crisp, buttery shortbread.