Pistachio Cookies Recipe: How to Make Pistachio Cookies

A pistachio cookie is a type of cookie featuring pistachios or pistachio flavor. Depending on the recipe, pistachio cookies range in texture from soft and chewy, like bakery-style chocolate chip cookies or traditional Italian pistachio cookies, to golden brown and crispy, like pistachio biscotti. Use pistachio paste, ground pistachios, chopped pistachios, or pistachio pudding to flavor these cookies. Some recipes incorporate food coloring or matcha to give the cookies a more pronounced green color.

Try any of the six types of pistachio cookies below for a weeknight treat or holiday get-together.

1. 1. Frosted pistachio cookies: Replicate soft, bakery-style frosted cookies by adding ground pistachios to the dry ingredients or chopped pistachios to the cookie dough. Pistachios add a slightly nutty flavor and greenish-brown tint to sugar cookies. Top the cookies with sweet pistachio buttercream frosting tinted green with green food coloring for vibrant color.
2. 2. Italian pistachio cookies: Similar to Italian wedding cookies, Italian pistachio cookies only contain a few ingredients and are a popular Christmas cookie. Powdered sugar, almond flour, pistachios, and eggs are the main ingredients, and the cookie dough comes together quickly. Form the cookie dough into small balls and bake until golden brown and crispy or soft and chewy.
3. 3. Pistachio biscotti: Another Italian cookie, biscotti are twice-baked cookies with nuts and dried fruits. Add pistachios and dried cranberries to the cookie dough for a sweet, tart, and nutty biscotti. Dip the biscotti in melted white chocolate, then dunk the biscotti into a cup of hot tea or coffee. Use this pistachio biscotti recipe as a guide.
4. 4. Pistachio drop cookies: Make a pistachio cookie dough similar in texture to chocolate chip cookies. Drop the cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets with a spoon or cookie scoop. Bake the drop cookies until the edges are golden brown and crispy and the middles are soft and chewy.
5. 5. Pistachio pudding cookies: Adding instant pistachio pudding mix to cookie dough produces a moist, cakey cookie with a sweet pistachio flavor and bright green color. Add the pistachio pudding mix in its powdered form instead of preparing the pudding.
6. 6. Pistachio white chocolate chip cookies: Add white chocolate chip cookies to a pistachio cookie dough, whether a drop cookie or a roll-out cookie. Pistachio and white chocolate complement each other well since the former is nutty and salty, and the latter is sweet and creamy.

Use the tips below to make the best homemade pistachio cookies.

1. 1. Use salted pistachios. Use salted pistachios instead of unsalted ones for a sweet-and-salty cookie. The balance of salt and sweet is crucial, especially if there are other mix-ins like white chocolate or dried fruit.
2. 2. Chill the cookie dough beforehand. The ingredients rise in temperature as the cookie dough mixes, resulting in soft cookie dough. Chill the cookie dough before scooping and baking, so the cookies hold a round, domed shape as they bake. As the dough chills, the butter solidifies, and the other ingredients dissolve and disperse evenly throughout the cookie dough, producing a more balanced cookie.
3. 3. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. To keep baked cookies fresh, store them in a resealable plastic bag or another container with an airtight lid. Alternatively, freeze the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, then transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer bag for long-term storage.