Pistachio Cookies
Posted Dec 14, 2024, Updated Dec 23, 2024
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These chocolate chip pistachio cookies have both ground pistachios and chopped pistachio in the dough, giving them a rich pistachio flavor. They are buttery, with crisp edges and soft centers and chocolate chips in every bite!
If you have a pistachio aficionado in your life, you have to make these pistachio cookies!
They are buttery with crisp edges and chewy centers. Plus, they have two forms of pistachios in the dough so you can rest assured there is a pronounced pistachio flavor that cannot go unnoticed!
Mix in some chocolate chips and you have a delicious cookie beloved by all!
Pistachio Cookies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or vegan butter sticks (like Earth’s Balance) are good substitutes.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. for a stronger molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Chocolate Chips: choose your favorite variety: milk, semisweet, dark, white, etc.
- Pistachios. this recipe calls for a total of ¾ cups of pistachios. They are divided, and ½ cup are ground to the texture of flour, and ¼ cup are chopped and stirred into the dough. You can use raw or roasted pistachios.
How to Make Pistachio Cookies
We’ll walk through this recipe together step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by ground ½ cup of the pistachios in a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) until they reach the texture of flour. Watch this process carefully and do not over-blend or they will turn into butter!
Then, combine the ground pistachios, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a medium bowl.
Then, in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachement, beat the butter and sugars together for 1 minute.
Next, add the egg and vanilla and beat for and additional 1 minute.
Then, add the dry ingredient and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
Stir in the chocolate chip and pecans and stir until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Then, use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Then, bake the chocolate chip pistachio cookies in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the top is just set and just barely beginning to turn light golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring the pistachio cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve
Serve these chocolate chip pistachio cookies slightly warm or room temperature.
They are a great addition to any holiday cookie or dessert tray, so be sure to check out our dessert recipes or Christmas cookie recipes.
Store
Once cooled, store chocolate chip pistachio cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Freeze
Or, you can freeze these cookies two ways:
- Freeze the dough before baking. Portion out the dough and roll it into balls. Then freeze in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 1-2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions.
- Freeze baked cookies. To freeze baked pistachio cookies, let them cool to room temperature. Then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To thaw: let the cookies sit at room temperature until thawed.
Pistachio Cookies Recipe FAQS
Yes, this recipe is easily doubled to make 36 cookies.
You can use roasted or raw, shelled pistachios.
Yes, if you’d like to prepare the dough to bake the next day, it can be chilled in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
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Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter (softened)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup pistachios (ground (75 g before grounding)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup pistachios (coarsely chopped)
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips (5 oz)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- Measure out ½ cup of pistachios, then ground them into a fine powder (texture like flour) in a high-powered blender (Vitamix). Watch it carefully – this happens very quickly and if you blend it too much it turns into pistachio butter (like peanut butter).
- In a medium bowl, combine ground pistachios, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 1 minute.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredient and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
- Add the chocolate chip and pecans and stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the top is just set and just barely beginning to turn light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or vegan butter sticks (like Earth’s Balance) are good substitutes.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. for a stronger molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version use 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Chocolate Chips: choose your favorite variety: milk, semisweet, dark, white, etc.
- Pistachios. this recipe calls for a total of ¾ cups of pistachios. They are divided, and ½ cup are ground to the texture of flour, and ¼ cup are chopped and stirred into the dough. You can use raw or roasted pistachios.
- To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 1-2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions.
- To thaw: let the cookies sit at room temperature until thawed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
