Name: Christmas cookies
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Makes 15
Ingredients: 350g plain flour; ½ tsp baking powder; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 225g unsalted butter; 300g caster sugar; 1 lemon zested; 2 eggs large; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150g dried cranberries; 200ml whole milk; 75g, plus 50g for decoration pistachios finely chopped; 20g plain flour; 150g caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 175g unsalted butter softened; a few drops green food colouring (optional)

Pistachio Sandwich Cookie Recipe with Cranberries

CRANBERRY COOKIES

350g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
1 lemon
zested
2 eggs
large
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g dried cranberries

PISTACHIO BUTTERCREAM

200ml whole milk
75g, plus 50g for decoration pistachios
finely chopped
20g plain flour
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
175g unsalted butter
softened
a few drops green food colouring
(optional)

Method

step 1
To make the cookies, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ¹/2 tsp of salt. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, then briefly mix in the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and the cranberries, and mix until a soft cookie dough is formed. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until firm.
step 2
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160/gas 4. Cut the dough into golf-ball-sized pieces, roll into balls and put onto baking-paper-lined trays or use a silicone baking mat. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned. Halfway through baking remove the trays from the oven and give them a firm tap on the surface to make the cookie collapse a little (this will give a chewier texture). Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
step 3
For the buttercream, put the milk and pistachios in a pan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 1 hour. Pour the mixture into a jug and use a hand blender to purée until smooth (the nuts won’t fully break down but they’ll form a slightly pasty texture, almost like a milkshake). Pour the milk mixture back into the pan along with the flour, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste. Cook over a medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick, like a pastry cream. Scrape the custard into a small bowl and cover the surface. Chill for 2 hours.
step 4
To finish the buttercream, beat the butter until soft and creamy then add in the pistachio custard a spoonful or so at a time. Continue beating until a buttercream texture is formed. Depending on the colour of the pistachios you use you may want to add a drop or two of green food colouring – but be sparing. Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe a dollop of buttercream onto ¹/2 the cookies, sandwiching together with a second cookie. To finish, roll each cookie in chopped pistachios, coating the exposed buttercream.