Fresh Cranberry Pistachio Cookies – Made with Boxed Cake Mix

Name: Fresh Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 dozen
Ingredients: White Cake Mix; 1/2 cup butter, softened; 4 oz cream cheese, softened; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 1 egg; 1 cup fresh cranberries chopped finely; 1/2 cup pistachio nuts chopped finely

by Patti Estep 13 Comments

These fresh cranberry pistachio cookies are very easy to make and are the perfect festive treat for your Christmas dessert tray.

More Festive Cookie Recipes:
Cranberry Shortbread, Thumbprint Cookies, Sugar Cookie Cups

Fresh cranberries are so delicious. Every year I make cranberry shortbread cookies and this holiday season I thought I’d try to make cake cookies.

Have you heard of these? They are cookies that you make with a box cake mix.

Since cranberries are in season and they look so festive I made cranberry pistachio cookies. They are not only tasty but they have a great red and green festive holiday look.

One of the things I like about these cookies is that they stay small when you bake them. Just the right size to pop in your mouth.

The cream cheese keeps them moist for days and though I haven’t done it yet, my guess is that they would freeze well. And, the recipe makes four dozen which can easily be doubled for your Christmas cookie swap.

Once again, just like the shortbread cookies, using fresh cranberries gave these cookies a nice tart flavor. You definitely don’t need to use the dried cranberries that are full of extra sugar.

However, if that’s all you have I believe that you probably could substitute the fresh with dried cranberries.

It was fun using cake mix to make the fresh cranberry pistachio cookies. I wonder what other combinations I could make next time.

Yield: 4 dozen

Fresh Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

White Cake Mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup fresh cranberries chopped finely
1/2 cup pistachio nuts chopped finely

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Chop cranberries and pistachios in a food processor.
In a large bowl cream butter and cream cheese together.
Add vanilla and egg. Mix well
Add cake mix and mix well.
Hand stir the cranberries and nuts into batter.
Scoop out teaspoon sized balls of dough onto a cookies sheet.
Bake for 6-7 minutes and then switch trays, moving the top tray to the bottom rack and the bottom tray to the top. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes more or until the cookies start to get a little golden brown on the top.
Remove and let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet.
Remove from cooking sheet onto a backing rack or towel to finish cooling.
Once cooled wrap and store or serve.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 49 Total Fat 4g Saturated Fat 2g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 2g Cholesterol 14mg Sodium 42mg Carbohydrates 2g Fiber 0g Sugar 1g Protein 1g

About Patti Estep

Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

Affiliate Account Hearth and Vine/Patti Estep is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Comments

Pam Jaworski says
December 17, 2018 at 1:53 pm

Oops!
I see the answers to my questions as I read your article once more!
Merry Christmas!

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 17, 2018 at 2:18 pm
  
  Glad you figured it out Pam. Merry Christmas!
  
  Reply
Pam Jaworski says
December 17, 2018 at 1:50 pm

Hi Ptti,
I made your cranberry pistachio cookies with success! How long do they stay fresh?
It is a week before serving. Do they freeze well?

Reply
meegan says
December 12, 2018 at 10:29 pm

Thanks for the delicious recipe, Patti. My grands are coming over Sunday for a little Christmas party. They will love these.

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 13, 2018 at 7:00 am
  
  Thank you Meegan. I hope they love them.
  
  Reply
Karly says
December 9, 2018 at 10:08 am

Super easy cookies! I’ve got to try these!

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 9, 2018 at 12:04 pm
  
  Thanks Karly, I hope you love them as much as we did.
  
  Reply
lauren // laurenalforddesign.com says
December 7, 2018 at 10:51 am

these look delicious and festive, but naturally beautiful. yum!

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 7, 2018 at 10:55 am
  
  Thanks Lauren. That was the idea. I hope you get a chance to make some. Happy Holidays.
  
  Reply
Carole West says
December 7, 2018 at 8:50 am

These look so tasty and that pop of red with the cranberries is perfect. Neat list of ingredients and I bet it’s a cookie where you would just keep eating because the flavor is so comforting.

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 7, 2018 at 10:34 am
  
  Thank Carole, I love the tart flavor of fresh cranberries and I think it works well with the sweetness of a cookie. I’ll have to try a different kind of cake mix another time. Maybe chocolate?
  
  Reply
Cd Loken says
December 7, 2018 at 7:14 am

Oh yum!! Your cookies look divine, Patti!! I have never made cookies using cake mix but what a time saver right?? All your dry ingredients in one box!! ❤️It!!

Reply
- Patti Estep says
  December 7, 2018 at 7:51 am
  
  Thanks CD. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while now and it was fun. The taste is light from the cake mix but also creamy from the cream cheese.
  
  Reply