There’s something quietly luxurious about these irresistible White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies. The creamy sweetness of white chocolate paired with buttery, toasted pistachios creates a cookie that feels special without being fussy. These cookies are just as welcome on a holiday cookie tray as they are with an afternoon cup of coffee.
Four different finishes are included from a simple dusting of powdered sugar to coating in white chocolate and leaving them plain or dipping them in toasted pistachios or finishing with a single whole pistachio. Your choice.
Other cookies for your enjoyment include: Almond Macaroons, Chocolate Spice Olive Oil Biscotti, Chocolate Dipped Sweet and Salty Butter Cookies and the Neapolitan Butter Cookies.
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Why These Should Be on Your Cookie List
- These are really fast and easy to make.
- Dusting them with powdered sugar alone makes these just pistachio cookies.
- Finishing them by dipping in white chocolate makes these truly irresistible.
- While the dipping takes a little time, it is easy to do and adds so much to the cookie.
- These aren’t your usual Christmas cookie. They’ll add a lot to your cookie tray or exchange.
Recipe Ingredients
FRONT ROW: Vanilla and almond extracts
MIDDLE ROW: Unsalted butter
BACK ROW: Cake flour, pistachio nuts, powdered sugar
Finishing the Cookies
FRONT ROW: Shortening, white chocolate
BACK ROW: Whole pistachios, powdered sugar, chopped pistachios
Key Ingredients
- It is important to toast the pistachios to bring out the maximum flavor.
- The nuts are chopped two different ways – more coarsely for the cookie and finer for the finish.
- Cake flour will give the best texture to the cookie. It is a softer flour and provides a melt a melt in your mouth experience more so than all-purpose. If you have to use all-purpose flour, you will need to use 1 ¾ cup instead of 2 cups of cake flour but the weight remains the same.
- Powdered sugar is often used in European cookies and also contributes to a cookie that melts in your mouth.
- I know there are some who eschew using shortening (read Crisco) to solidify the chocolate at room temperature but there is very little and it is the only thing I know of that will make the chocolate solid at room temperature. Butter and oil will not harden. Coconut oil has been suggested but it can get crackling hard.
Variations
- Lemon or orange zest can be added to the cookie.
- Other nuts can be used instead of the pistachios. But be sure to toast the nuts first.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Coarsely chop the toasted pistachios into medium size pieces. See my post, Chopping Nuts A Quicker Way, for the easiest way to do this. Step 2. Place the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in the bowl of a mixer. Step 3. Beat until almost white, scraping down as necessary. Step 4. Add the flour.
Step 5. Beat on medium until the mixture is about ¾ combined. Step 6. Add the pistachios. By adding them now it is easier for them to get them evenly distributed. Step 7. Finish mixing everything until it is completely combined. Step 8. Using a #70 disher/scooper or a 1 tablespoon measure, drop the cookies. Finish them by rolling them into smooth balls.
Step 9. For dipping the cookies into the nuts, the nuts have to be finely chopped. While I don’t usually use the processor for chopping nuts, I do in this case. Pulse the toasted nuts until they are finely chopped. They will not be uniform, so when some are, I put all of the nuts through a sieve and then pick out the larger ones and return them to the processor for more pulsing. I always sieve them to make sure the dust of the nuts doesn’t impede the sharp look of the dipped cookies. Place them in a small bowl but one that a cookie will comfortably fit in. If they are too spread out, the nuts won’t be deep enough to coat the cookie well. Step 10. Place the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Here I have made one by placing a heatproof bowl over a pan. Step 11. Bring the water underneath to a simmer. Do not boil. Keep it at a simmer while the chocolate and shortening melt. Stir together. Do not whisk as you may get air bubbles. Step 12. Keep the double boiler intact and pick up a cookie. Dip it upside down in the chocolate right up to the bottom edge. Let the excess drip back and very lightly remove any extra by scraping it gently over the edge of the bowl. Place it on a parchment lined baking sheet right side up. By keeping the chocolate over the double boiler it doesn’t get cold and thicken up as quickly.
Step 13. Here the dipped cookie is immediately put into the bowl of finely chopped pistachios up to the bottom edge. Step 14. Place it on parchment paper right side up. Step 15. Another way to finish the cookie is to dip it, place it on parchment and immediately place a half or whole pistachio on top. Step 16. The last way is to sprinkle them heavily with powdered sugar but these will not have the white chocolate on them.
All of the dipped cookies can be place in the fridge to firm up. They will remain firm at room temperature or in a tin.
Recipe FAQ’S
Central and Western Asia where they were considered a delicacy They came to the U.S in the 1900’s and California now dominates American production with Arizona and New Mexico following. They thrive in arid, hot climates.
A popular dessert in Turkey as well as Middle eastern and Mediterranean cuisines is Baklava made with pistachios instead of walnuts. It also uses a simple syrup or honey syrup to soak in.
White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids, but no cocoa solids. It is made from the fat of the cocoa bean (cocoa butter) mixed with dairy and sweeteners, often with added vanilla and soy lecithin. According to the FDA, it must contain at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk solids.
Expert Tips
- Always toast the pistachios to bring out more flavor. Since I toast all of my nuts, I often will toast a 1 or 2 pound package, cool them, repackage and freeze them so they are ready when I am. At the bakery we would toast 30 pounds at a time and freeze them. It makes baking much easier.
- White chocolate can seize or burn quite quickly which is why I prefer to melt it over a double boiler and barely simmering water. I have burned too much melting it in the microwave.
- Cake flour is used for its low gluten content leading to a cookie that melts in your mouth.
- When coating cookies or candy as in the recipe, keep the double boiler intact as you dip. The hot water underneath delays the cooling of the chocolate making it easier to get them dipped. If it gets too thick, simply rewarm.
A Few More European Cookies
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Irresistible White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies From Scratch
There’s something quietly luxurious about these irresistible White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies. The creamy sweetness of white chocolate paired with buttery, toasted pistachios creates a cookie that feels special without being fussy.
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Ingredients
White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Finishing Ingredients – if dipping all of them or finishing all the same kind
Instructions
White Chocolate Pistachio Cookie
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
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Place the pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet and toast all of them at once until they are fragrant and somewhat browned, about 7 to 9 minutes. Cool completely.
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Coarsely chop ¾ cup or 85 grams for the cookies. To easily do this see my post, Chopping Nuts a Quicker Way. Set aside.
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Combine the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until the mixture is almost white, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Add the flour and mix to about ¾ done. Add the pistachios and finish mixing until everything is evenly combined. If the dough is too soft to scoop, chill it to firm it up. Don’t leave it in the fridge too long or it will be too hard to scoop the cookies.
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Using a #70 disher/scooper drop the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and then roll them into smooth balls. Place them 2″ apart. A tablespoon of dough may also be used.
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Bake for 7 minutes, turn the sheet and bake for 7 to 8 more minutes. Cool completely.
Finishing the White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
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To coat all of the cookies in finely chopped nuts, place the toasted nuts in the bowl of a processor. Pulse to chop them finely. They will not all be chopped to the same degree, so pour them into a sieve and remove the nut dust. Pick out the larger nuts and re-pulse them. Repeat until they are uniformly finely chopped. Place them in a bowl that is large enough to coat one cookie at a time. You want to create depth so the cookie can be be coated right up the bottom when held upside down. Set aside.
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Place the chopped up white chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler or fashion one out of a bowl that fits on top of a saucepan. A tapered bowl is perfect here because the chocolate should be as deep as possible and not spread out or it will be difficult to dip them properly.
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Add water to the saucepan but do not let it touch the bottom of the bowl.
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Bring the water to a bare simmer and keep it there. Heat the chocolate and shortening until it is melted, stirring often. Do not use a whisk as you risk air bubbles.
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While the chocolate melts, line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
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Keeping the double boiler intact, turn a cookie upside down and dip it in the chocolate all the way to the bottom. Allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Very lightly, scrape the remaining excess, on the side of the bowl without removing all of the chocolate.
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If finishing with the finely chopped pistachios, dip the cookie immediately into the nuts right after dipping it into the chocolate and place it on the baking sheet.
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If finishing with the pistachio half or whole, apply it immediately after dipping the cookie and placing it on the baking sheet.
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To speed up the setting of the chocolate, refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. They will stay set up at room temperature or in a tin after they are set.
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If using the powdered sugar finish, the cookies will not be dipped. Simply line them up on a baking sheet and sift powdered sugar heavily over the. They will not have white chocolate on them.
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Kept in an airtight tin with paper between them, they will last for a week or so.
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To make ahead, roll the balls of dough, freeze them and bake from the frozen stage, adding a couple of extra minutes. Finish as desired.
Notes
As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.Unless otherwise noted, salt refers to table salt.
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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It is important to toast the pistachios to bring out the maximum flavor. Since I toast all of my nuts, I often will toast a 1 or 2 pound package, cool them, repackage and freeze them so they are ready when I am. At the bakery we would toast 30 pounds at a time and freeze them. It makes baking much easier.
The nuts are chopped two different ways – more coarsely for the cookie and finer for the finish.
Cake flour will give the best texture to the cookie. It is a softer flour and provides a melt a melt in your mouth experience more so than all purpose. If you have to use all-purpose flour, you will need to use 1 ¾ cup instead of 2 cups of cake flour but the weight remains the same.
Powdered sugar is often used in European cookies and also contributes to a cookie that melts in your mouth.
I know there are some who eschew using shortening (read Crisco) to solidify the chocolate at room temperature but there is very little and it is the only thing I know of that will make the chocolate solid at room temperature. Butter and oil will not harden. Coconut oil has been suggested but it can get crackling hard.
White chocolate can seize or burn quite quickly which is why I prefer to melt it over a double boiler and barely simmering water. I have burned too much melting it in the microwave.
When coating cookies or candy as in the recipe, keep the double boiler intact as you dip. The hot water underneath delays the cooling of the chocolate making it easier to get them dipped. If it gets too thick, simply rewarm.
Nutrition
Serving: 45cookiesCalories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 8mgPotassium: 88mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 153IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.3mg
