One bite of this buttery crisp gluten free cranberry shortbread with dried cranberries and pistachios and you will be hooked! These simple gluten free slice and bake cookies make a delicious treat for the holidays!
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I am excited about these gluten free citrus shortbread cookies with pistachios. They are buttery and full of flavor. I love to use lime zest instead of orange zest when baking with cranberries. It adds delicious tanginess.
Dried cranberries are available all year long. I love to use Ocean Spray cranberries to make my shortbread cookies. There are many other brands of dried cranberries, too, but our grocery store seems to carry this one brand mainly.
If you prefer to try a regular drop-style cookie, these gluten free cranberry white chocolate cookies are also really good.
Why you will love these gluten free cranberry shortbread cookies:
- They are full of buttery shortbread goodness. They melt in your mouth!
- These cookies are made with dried cranberries so you can enjoy them all year.
- You can cut them out in circles or use your favorite cookie cutters!
- They are made with only five simple ingredients.
This is a great, easy recipe to make if you are looking for the perfect gluten-free slice-and-bake cookies. If you love cookies as much as we do, check out all of my delicious gluten free cookies recipes.
These homemade cookies are easy to make for Thanksgiving; these are the perfect gluten free Thanksgiving cookies! I also have an amazing traditional Gluten Free Shortbread recipe that is really easy to make.
Allergen Information:
These homemade cranberry shortbread cookies are gluten-free, egg-free, oat-free, and soy-free. Make them dairy-free using dairy-free butter. Make them nut-free by omitting the pistachios.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten free flour blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. For some reason, Bob’s blend needed a little more flour. If you notice the dough is a bit wet, add a little more flour using Bob’s 1 to 1. (That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours, and I can not guarantee the recipe will work if you use other mixes.)
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Butter – To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- Cranberries – Use dried cranberries because fresh ones will add too much moisture.
- Pistachios – If you are nut-free, omit them. You can also use other types of nuts, like pecans.
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Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend them all.
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them into a dough.
Step 4: As I mentioned above, for some reason, I found that Bob’s GF 1 to 1 blend was a bit wetter than the King Arthur blend. If you notice this, it is okay to add more flour so the dough isn’t too sticky.
📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cake batter is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
Step 5: Form the dough into a log and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Remove the dough and preheat the oven to 375º F. I use a higher heat to set the cookies quickly so they don’t spread.
Step 6: Slice the cookies into 1/2 inch circles and put them onto a parchment paper-lined
Step 7: Bake at 375º F for 8-10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t overbake.
You may also love this simple Gluten Free Maple Shortbread or these Gluten Free Lemon Shortbread Cookies recipes.
Make it fancy:
Make your citrus cranberry shortbread fancy by drizzling or dipping half of the cookies in melted white chocolate. You can sprinkle them with crushed pistachios or sprinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The main difference between shortbread and sugar cookies is that sugar cookies have eggs, and shortbread does not.
Unfortunately, you can’t use fresh cranberries in this recipe. They add too much moisture to the shortbread.
You can make these gluten free pistachio and cranberry shortbread cookies dairy-free by using vegan butter.
These cookies will keep fresh for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. They will keep up to 4 months in a freezer bag in the freezer.
More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes:
- Easy Gluten Free Gingerbread Melting Moments
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Espresso Cookies
- Buttery Gluten Free Pecan Cookies
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ cup cane sugar
- dash salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to almost melted
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup roasted salted pistachios removed from the shells and chopped
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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Instructions
- Add 2 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend, 1/2 cup cane sugar, and 1 cup unsalted butter to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend them all together.
- Add the softened 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons lime zest, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 cup dried cranberries, and 1/3 cup roasted salted pistachios to a bowl and whisk to blend.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them into a dough.
- Note: or some reason I found the Bob's GF 1 to 1 blend was a bit wetter than with the King Arthur blend. If you notice this, it is okay to add more flour so the dough isn't too sticky.
- Form the dough into a log and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
- Remove the dough and preheat the oven to 375º F. I use a higher heat so that the cookies are set quickly and don't spread.
- Slice the cookies 1/2 inch circles and put them onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375º F for 8-10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't overbake.
- Remove from the oven to a cooling rack.
- Optional: drizzle or dip in white chocolate.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours. You may need a bit more of Bob’s blend so the dough isn’t too wet.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
- These cookies will keep for up to 3 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Delicious, but with being 1″ thick, I had to bake for 13 minutes and flip half way.
I am so glad you loved these cookies. I am sorry you had to flip them, maybe make them a little thinner next time. I went through the recipe and saw no note to cut them 1″ thick…to avoid any confusion, I added 1/2 inch as a size.
Your recipes are always super, they always result in great baking! I used Bob’s flour, the blue bag. Thank you!
I am so glad you loved this shortbread, Antoinette. Thank you!
As with many gluten free baked goods these crumble very easily. What I did however was carefully turn them over in my hand and put a coating of melted white chocolate on the underside using the back of a spoon, turn them right side up and put onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper…refrigerate until the white chocolate is set and no more crumbling of your cookie! This recipe is excellent! I used a dried mixed berry blend and no pistachios…love them!
Adding white chocolate to the underside is such a fun idea, Cathy. Thank you for the tip.
My cookies also crumbled a lot when cutting and used Bob’s Red Mill. They also took a lot longer at 375 than recommended. Hoping they taste good.
Hi Erin, what gluten free flour blend did you use? Some blends have a higher starch-to-grain ratio and need more liquids.
They were very difficult to cut. The dough kept breaking apart in crumbles. I let the log sit out for about 20-30 minutes and it became a little easier to cut. They baked up really nice and are delicious.
Hi Stephanie, I haven’t heard of this happening, but I suspect it is probably due to your flour blend. Some blends are very starch-heavy and need more liquid ingredients. I would recommend either adding a little more butter or cutting back 2-3 TBSP of flour next time.
Hello there,
Is it possible to use a sugar substitute like monk fruit or stevia? Please advise, I’d love to make these!
Hi Cecelia, I haven’t tested monkfruit sweetener. I know some of my readers use it, but I am not sure which recipes.
I used ghee instead of butter. I weighed out everything on a scale. I ended up with puddles instead of cookies. I’m guessing ghee is significantly wetter than regular butter? I googled it and was told 1:1 ratio? Perhaps not in baking. I will try this again with less ghee.
Hi Linda, I have never used ghee in my baking, but it doesn’t sound like it was a good substitute for this recipe.
Hi there! Would you share the weights for each ingredient? I prefer to weigh out my ingredients. Can’t wait to make these cookies!!
Hi Ida, unfortunately, I do not weigh my ingredients. Every gluten free flour blend weighs something different and I do not have the resources to buy and test a lot of gluten free flour blends to weigh and test multiple gluten free flour blends.
thanks for sharing this recipe! I was looking at the nutrition and wondered whether the calories are right, 1 cookie 294 kcal??
Regards,
Diana
It is hard to say if that 294 is 100% correct. Shortbread has a lot of butter, but not a lot of sugar. No nutrition calculator is ever 100% accurate. Also, everyone makes different-sized cookies and different thicknesses. I suspect the number is a bit high, the recipe probably makes 14 cookies if cut thinner. Calorie content also depends on whether someone uses sugared dry cranberries or unsweetened.
Oops! I froze the dough instead of chill! Hoping it will be ok. Smh!
It should be fine Lisa. I think cutting the roll will be a bit hard if it is totally frozen.