Pistachio Cookies
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These small-batch Pistachio Cookies are soft, chewy, and perfect! They’re easy to make with real pistachios and simple baking staples for rich, nutty flavors in every bite.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
Made with REAL pistachios – No pistachio pudding mix or funky ingredients here; the nutty flavors come from pistachio flour and chopped pistachios!
Melt-in-your-mouth treat – Their moist, soft, and chewy texture practically screams “decadence.”
Makes 10 cookies – Perfect for sharing with friends and family after dinner or around the holidays.
Table of Contents
I’ve been keeping pistachios stocked in my pantry for years so I can make pistachio butter for my toast, no churn pistachio ice cream for hot summer days, and pistachio cake for special occasions. But now, I can’t stop using them for batches of these Pistachio Cookies.
These decadent, nutty cookies are easy to make with homemade pistachio flour, baking staples, and chopped shelled pistachios. Best of all, this is a quick small-batch recipe; it makes enough cookies for an after-dinner treat or sharing with family around Christmas.
Pistachio Cookie Ingredients
Pistachios – You need approximately 1 1/2 cups of raw, unsalted, shelled pistachios for this recipe. 1 cup of nuts is blended into flour, and the rest are chopped and folded into the cookie dough.
Pistachio flour – The secret to making the best cookies with pistachios? Homemade pistachio flour. It’s easy to make at home by blending approximately 1 cup of raw shelled pistachios into a fine flour.
All-purpose flour – These cookies would be way too soft if we only used pistachio flour, so I used AP flour to bring the dough together and give the cookies a chewy texture.
Sugars – Brown sugar adds moisture and structure to the dough, while cane sugar sweetens the cookies.
This list is to provide further clarification on a few of the ingredients. See recipe card below for the full ingredient list.
Variations
- Gluten-free option – I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend might work as a swap for the all-purpose flour. Let me know if you try it!
- Add chocolate chips – Combine the chopped pistachios with chocolate chips or white chocolate chips for a chocolatey twist.
- More add-in ideas – Use a 50-50 mix of chopped pistachios and chopped almonds, dried cranberries, or orange zest.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with the icing I drizzled over my cinnamon roll cookies.
How to Make Pistachio Cookies
Step 1: Make the pistachio flour. Pulse the pistachios in a small blender or food processor until they turn into a flour.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the pistachio flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Cream the butter. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and cane sugar together. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
Step 4: Combine. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. To finish, fold in the chopped pistachios.
Step 5: Bake. Drop scoops of the cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie. Bake the cookies until the edges are set.
Step 6: Cool, then serve. Wait for the cookies to cool and firm up before serving. Enjoy!
Erin’s Tips and Tricks
- Do not overpulse the pistachios or else they will release their oils and you’ll end up with pistachio butter instead (not a bad thing, but not what we want for these cookies!). A few pulses are all it takes to turn them into a powder.
- You can make the pistachio flour up to 1 month ahead of time, but I recommend storing it in the fridge or freezer to keep the oils from turning rancid.
- Bake no more than 6 cookies at a time. Any more on the baking sheet and they’ll spread into each other.
My Pro Tip
These Are Naturally Soft Cookies
The cookie dough may be a little softer than you’re used to. Try to avoid adding more flour, unless the dough is particularly sticky or hard to work with.
The cookies may look a bit soft or underdone after coming out of the oven, but I promise that’s totally normal. Give them at least 5 to 10 minutes to cool on a wire rack so they firm up.
Storage
Make-ahead: After dropping the scoops of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, freeze them until solid and transfer them to a freezer-safe container. The raw cookie dough balls will freeze well for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, bake the frozen cookie dough as normal, but add an extra 2 to 3 minutes to the baking time.
Room temperature: Store the leftover baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for 2 to 3 days.
Refrigerator: Pistachio cookies will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge, but they may dry out a bit faster.
Freezer: Freeze any leftover cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
More Cookie Recipes
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Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pistachio flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend pistachios in a small blender (like a Nutribullet) to create pistachio flour.
- Add the pistachio flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl and stir.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and cane sugar together. Then, add the egg and vanilla and mix.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to combine. Last, stir in the pistachios with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scooper to scoop the dough out and place it onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure the dough is spaced out to allow room for the cookies to spread.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and wait 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
