With vibrant color and delicious flavor, these Italian pistachio cookies will be a new family favorite. They're ready in 30 minutes and the dough doesn't need to be chilled before baking. While there's nothing stopping you from enjoying these cookies any day of the year, they work especially well as holiday treats!
If you love easy cookies, today's recipe is for you. These quick pistachio cookies are so delicious. The bright green color comes solely from the pistachios, not food coloring or artificial flavoring. Just like Turkish almond cookies and Persian walnut cookies, these pistachio cookies have a nutty flavor that is so satisfying!
Table Of Contents:
Why This Recipe Works
- Quick: The cookie dough doesn't require time to chill in the fridge, meaning they're ready in less than an hour.
- Simple ingredients: This pistachio cookie recipe calls for just a few very simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
- Flavors: The cookies have a strong pistachio flavor that's balanced with the addition of lemon zest.
Ingredients
- Pistachios: You need shelled, roasted unsalted pistachios for this recipe. You can buy regular unsalted pistachios and shell them yourself if needed. Then we'll grind them to turn them into pistachio powder or flour. You can read more about pistachios and how to use them.
- Flour: This recipe is very versatile and forgiving. You can use all purpose flour, gluten-free flour or almond flour. There will be no changes in the measurement.
- Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. It's softer and finer than granulated sugar. I don't recommend using granulated sugar instead.
- Egg: You need one whole egg for this recipe.
- Lemon: Some lemon zest adds a nice touch to the cookies.
How To Make Italian Pistachio Cookies
- Place the pistachios in a food processor or a high speed blender. Grind them until they turn into powder. Make sure there are no chunks left and the mixture has a powder texture. Don't over-blend, otherwise they turn into pistachio butter.
- Mix the ground pistachios with the flour and powdered sugar.
- Add in the egg followed by the lemon zest. Mix until the dough forms.
- Shape the cookies into oval shaped balls and set them aside. Once all the dough is used, gently coat the cookies in powdered sugar.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the sides of the cookies to make indentations.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before moving them to the cooling rack.
Storage
Store these cookies in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze pistachio cookies in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Thaw the pistachio cookies in the fridge overnight before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Salted pistachios would alter the flavor, so I don't recommend using it.
I don't recommend using any other sweetener because it would change the flavor and texture of the cookie.
Yes, you can make the dough up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until you're ready to bake the cookies. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven, take the cookie dough out of the fridge and and shape the cookies.
Making pistachio flour at home is very simple. Make sure you're using unsalted pistachios and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for a few seconds until the pistachios are ground and turn into powder.
Yes, you can use gluten-free flour or almond flour to make gluten-free pistachio cookies. The measurement will be the same.
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Italian Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup pistachios unsalted and shelled
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- Âľ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 lemon zest of
To Coat
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the pistachios in a food processor and blend so they turn into powder, or as we call it, pistachio flour.
- Place the pistachio flour in a bowl with the flour and powdered sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Add in the egg and lemon zest. Mix using a spoon or a spatula so a dough forms.
- Shape the dough into 12 oval shaped balls. Place the 3 tablespoons powdered sugar on a plate, roll each cookie dough ball gently in the powdered sugar. Make sure they're coated with the powdered sugar on all sides.
- Place the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet and gently press the sides to make indentations.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Let the pistachio cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then move them to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- You can use roasted pistachios for this recipe. Make sure they're not salted.
- To make these pistachio cookies, you can use all purpose flour, gluten-free flour or almond flour.
Chenee
I've never tried pistachio cookies before but these look absolutely delicious! I'm excited to try them out soon.
Justine
We love pistachios and we loved these cookies! What a simple recipe.
Nathan
I love how simple these cookies are to make! Anything that only requires 5 ingredients but still yields such tasty results is a major win in my book. Thanks for sharing!
MJ
My husband loves pistachios and I'm so glad I found this recipe! The cookies were a hit!
Kathleen
Loving the authentic flavors and textures in these Italian pistachio cookies. They are truly delicious!