Chewy Pistachio Cookies have a soft and chewy center, crisp edges and an incredible flavor. They’re packed with white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped pistachios and a hint of honey flavor.
Other popular cookie recipes to try are these snickerdoodles, chewy chocolate chip cookies, or toffee chocolate chip cookies.
The Best Pistachio Cookies
My father-in-law and husband both have the same favorite type of cookie: white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. And while I’ll admit they’re one of my favorite cookie flavors as well, macadamia nuts aren’t my first pick of nuts.
But pistachios– well pistachios are hands down my favorite nut. (hi Pistachio Muffins)
So why I haven’t put pistachios into cookies until now, I’m not sure, but I promise I’m never looking back. These sweet, soft and chewy cookies, with a hint of honey flavor and a whole lot of pistachios, are perfection.
Ingredients In Pistachio Cookies
- Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the dough.
- Brown & White Sugar: Sweetens and aids in texture; brown sugar adds moisture.
- Honey: Enhances sweetness and chewiness.
- Egg: Acts as a binder and provides structure.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances overall flavor.
- Cornstarch: Makes cookies tender.
- Baking Soda & Powder: Helps cookies rise.
- Salt: Balances and intensifies flavors in pistachio cookies.
- Flour: The main structural ingredient.
- White Chocolate Chips & Pistachios: Add sweetness and a crunchy texture.
How To Make Pistachio Cookies
- Melt and cool the butter.
- Mix butter with sugars, honey, egg, and vanilla.
- Combine cornstarch, baking soda, powder, salt, and flour, and stir into the mixture.
- Fold in white chocolate chips and pistachios.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and form dough into balls.
- Bake pistachio cookies for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Storage
Storage Tips
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Cool cookies, freeze on a baking sheet, then store in freezer bags with parchment paper between layers. Can be frozen for up to 3 months, but may lose some texture.
- Freeze Dough Balls: Freeze dough balls on a sheet pan, then transfer to an airtight container/bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Baking Frozen Dough: Bake pistachio cookies directly from the freezer, adding 1-3 minutes to baking time, or thaw in the fridge and bake as usual.
More Cookie Recipes
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Lemon Cookies
- Edible Cookie Dough
- Caramel Oatmeal Cookies
- Flourless Monster Cookies
Pistachio Cookies
Chewy Pistachio Cookies have a soft and chewy center, crisp edges, and an incredible flavor. They're packed with white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped pistachios and a hint of honey flavor.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 and 3/4 cup white all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup roasted pistachios
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. It's important the butter isn't hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
- Once butter has cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown sugar, white sugar, and honey until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract. Stir again.
- Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and stir until smooth. Add in the correctly measured (See Note 1) flour and mix until JUST combined. Don't over mix.
- Gently fold in white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped pistachios.
- Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with a Silpat liner or parchment paper and set aside. Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls (see picture above for shape and size). Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces (49g).
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, erring on the side of under-baking to keep them soft and chewy (we like ours right at 9 minutes). Remember, the cookies will bake a little more out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
- Remove from the oven (If desired, press a few extra chocolate chips or pistachios into the tops of the cookies to ensure even placement of chocolate and to make them look pretty!). Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- STORAGE: We like these cookies best on days 1 and 2 of being made. They do last up to a week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor. To store: Place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour, which will yield cakey and less-flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife. I've also included gram measurements with this recipe if you prefer to measure using a scale.
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I can’t wait for Fall, so that I can bake again – first up will be these cookies! Thanks, Chelsea!
Yay!! Hope you love them Kris 🙂