Our Top-Rated Christmas Cookie Recipe of All Time Is an ‘Absolute Winner’

There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than baking cookies, and our website is full of incredible cookie recipes to choose from. Still, one recipe stands out above all of the top Christmas cookie recipes Allrecipes has to offer—our top-rated holiday cookie recipe, Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti.

Like so any of our most popular recipes, this one has Italian origins. Biscotti is an Italian form of almond biscuit that comes in an oblong shape perfect for dipping in tea, coffee, or a cup of festive hot chocolate.

In this recipe, flavorful almond extract mixes with sugar and olive oil to create a delectable nutty biscotti, while pistachios and dried cranberries give the cookie a nice amount of texture and pizazz. You’ll want to whip a batch of these up, along with our most saved holiday treat, Ricotta Cookies, as both are sure to have Santa craving an espresso on Christmas Eve instead of a glass of milk.

Why We Love Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

These salty, fruity, crunchy Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti cookies are popular for good reason. One reviewer says they’re “perhaps the most fantastic cookie” ever, while another says the cookies are the perfect texture: crumbly like a biscuit, but “not rock hard like some biscotti.”

Reviewers take plenty of liberties with the recipe as well, adding things like dried apricots, dark chocolate chips, and fresh lemon zest to play with the recipe’s flavor profiles. Community members seem to unanimously appreciate that, as long as you follow the recipe, the results remain consistent and delicious each time they bake this popular biscotti.

These flavorful holiday cookies are perfect for any occasion, from holiday entertaining to snacking while watching Christmas movies. They’re also quite beautiful, with hints of green pistachios and red cranberries, making them a great addition to a holiday charcuterie board or dessert spread.

How to Make Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

These versatile cookies are simple to make, according to reviews, as long as you trust the process and follow the recipe. Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees F and lining your baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

In one bowl, combine the sugar and olive oil and mix until blended before adding the eggs, vanilla, and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, then slowly mix your dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ones. To finish up this decadent batter, fold in cranberries and pistachios by hand.

To start forming your dough into those iconic biscotti shapes, split the dough into two 12×2-inch logs and place them onto the cookie sheet. The dough may be sticky—in fact, many reviewers vouch for this—so be sure to wet your hands before shaping the dough to help prevent messy fingers. Bake these two logs until they’re light brown in color. Then, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. While the logs cool, reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees F.

When the cooling time is over, cut the logs on a diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices. Bake the slices for a second time until they’ve come to the dry and crunchy texture of biscotti—about 8 to 10 minutes.

These festive biscotti make a wonderful gift as well, so you might want to double the batch while you’re in cookie-baking mode.