Happy Pistachio Day!

Well, I learned from Hungry Girl that today is National Pistachio day. These are very healthy nuts. They have less fat than other nuts and you can eat a lot more (45 nuts) in one serving than other nuts. A while back I decided to revisit a recipe and tweak it a little so that I could make it a pistachio cookie. In addition to having pistachios, this cookie has oatmeal and uses sugar free, fat free pudding. The pudding gives the cookies an interesting but good flavor. They don't really turn out green, which I thought would have been fun. Hey, you could make these at St. Patrick's day and use food coloring to color them! Enjoy!

Pistachio Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
1 cup butter flavored shortening, I just used regular flavor
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) package sugar free, fat free pistachio pudding mix
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream together shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth (several minutes). Blend in instant pudding, then beat in eggs until the batter is light and fluffy. Combine flour and baking soda; mix into the batter. Stir in oats and nuts. Dough will be stiff. Drop dough by spoonfuls (I use my cookie scoop) onto the baking sheets or stones. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Cool on wire racks.