These pistachio shortbread cookies are rich, buttery, nutty and simply taste delicious! Perfect for Christmas (and any other day of the year!), these cut-out pistachio cookies are super easy to make and can be decorated in many tasty ways!
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Why we love this recipe
This pistachio shortbread cookies recipe is seriously easy! The dough is made with a handful of ingredients and simply made in the food processor in minutes.
Unlike traditional shortbread cookies, this recipe uses an egg yolk in addition to the butter. It creates a deliciously rich and flavourful cookie.
And because these shortbreads are rolled into a thin layer then cut out with a cookie cutter, you can create any fun shape you want for your cookies like for these Almond Shortbread Cookies!
Ingredients
What are Pistachio Shortbreads made of:
Scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities
- Pistachio: finely ground raw and shelled unsalted pistachios. You can roast them for a few minutes in the oven for a deeper flavour if you want. The dough will be a bit hard to roll out and cut if you've got large chunks of pistachios in it. Try to ground them finely without turning into a powder to keep some texture.
- Flour: Plain / All-Purpose Flour is fine here. You cannot substitute the flour for more pistachios because the flour is required for structure. Add a little bit of fine sea salt for balance.
- Sugar: Icing sugar or powdered sugar. Fine white granulated sugar (caster sugar) will work too here.
- Egg Yolk: from a large egg, at room temperature.
Optional Additions & Variations
- Citrus zest: add some lemon zest or orange zest for an extra pop of flavour.
- Chocolate: mix in some chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips
- Chopped pistachios: for extra crunch and texture, add some roughly chopped pistachio into the cookie dough before rolling it out. Alternatively, you could sprinkle the cookies with chopped pistachios before baking them too.
How to make Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
This shortbread cookie recipe is super easy to make: it all happens in the food processor!
- Start by grinding the unshelled nuts by placing them in the bowl of your food processor and pulsing until you get a relatively fine powder. Keeping some larger chunks of pistachio is completely fine!
Be careful not to over-blend or the pistachios will start releasing their natural oil.
- Photo 1: Add the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, salt and powdered sugar) to the ground pistachios. Pulse for a few seconds to combine.
- Photo 2: Add the very cold cubed butter and pulse for a few seconds.
- Photo 3: Stop as soon as the butter has been cut into small chunks no larger than a pea.
- Photo 4: Add the egg yolk and vanilla.
- Photo 5: Mix until a rough dough starts to come together. It should take about 30 seconds to a minute. The dough should be slightly soft and sticky but hold together easily.
- Photo 6: Transfer the cookie dough mixture between two large sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large disk that is about 6 mm thick (1/4 inch).
I recommend using a rolling pin with thickness rings for even cookies.
- Place the dough on top of a large baking tray and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
At this stage, you could also freeze the dough. Either roll it and freeze between the two sheets of baking paper or bring together into a large bowl loosely flattened with your hands and wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Preheat your oven on 160 degrees Celsius / 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper. For the best results, I highly recommend using a perforated baking tray combined with a perforated baking mat.
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- Photo 7 & 8: When completely cold, remove from the fridge and gently peel off the baking paper. Using the cookie cutter of your choice (I used a 6 cm / 2 inch round fluted cookie cutter), cut out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet. Leave a bit of space between each cookies.
Any leftover dough can be re-rolled, chilled and cut out again to make more cookies.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are very slightly golden. Place on a cooling rack and leave to cool down for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tray. The cookies will still be a bit soft when they come out of the oven and you risk breaking them if moving them straight away.
Decoration Suggestion
Once the pistachio shortbread cookies are all baked, you can optionally decorated or glaze them.
Here are a few ideas of decoration:
- Dark chocolate drizzle with chopped pistachios (like here).
- White chocolate drizzle with chopped pistachios and lime zest (like here as well).
- Fully dipped in the chocolate of your choice and topped with chopped pistachios, some citrus zest, cranberries or even some dried rose petals.
- Glazed with a classic icing (with a few drops of lemon juice for example) or decorated with royal icing.
Recipe FAQs
The main difference is usually the higher ratio of butter to flour in shortbread cookies and the fact that they don't contain a leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda. They are more dense but with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery flavor.
Absolutely! If you want to really boost the pistachio flavour of the cookies, you can roast the nuts in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. It will deepen their flavour but note that it will also make them look more brown.
Yes, the pistachio cookies can be made by hands (as long as you have the equipment to grind the pistachios into a powder). Simply mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl then rub in the very cold butter until it is all evenly covered. Add the egg and vanilla and gently knead with your hands to combine.
I recommend chilling your dough for at least 2 to 3 hours to make sure the butter is very cold again before baking.
Yes. For sliced shortbread cookies, gently roll the dough into a long log. You can use baking paper or plastic wrap to help you roll it out evenly. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge until hard before slicing out the cookies.
Tips for success
- My favourite way to roll cookies - or any type of shortbread / shortcrust pastry dough - is between two sheets of baking paper. This allows you to perfectly and easily roll out the dough without needing to dust it with additional flour. The dough can also be rolled out straight away when still soft.
- Using a rolling pin with thickness rings is a super simple way to ensure all cookies have the same thickness and are all even. If making the cookies thinner or thicker, make sure to adjust the baking time appropriately. My 6 mm shortbreads took about 15 minutes to fully bake.
- Make sure the cookie dough has plenty of time to chill before you bake it. You want to make sure the gluten created when rolled out has had the time to relax to avoid creating tough cookies. You also want the butter to be completely cold, otherwise the cookies will spread in the oven and you won't get the 'melt-in-mouth' texture.
Storing & Freezing
Once baked, the pistachio shortbread cookies can be kept at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, stored in an airtight container or box.
If you are planning to freeze the cookies, I highly recommend freezing the dough unbaked. You can do so by either:
- Freezing the rolled out dough between two sheets of baking paper (place on a flat baking sheet until hard). When ready to bake, allow to thaw in the fridge for a few hours before cutting out the cookies.
- Rolling out the dough, chilling it then cutting out the cookies. Place the cut-out cookies on a flat baking sheet in the freezer until hard. Transfer into a container or freezing bag, making sure to separate the cookies with baking paper so they don't stick to each other. Put on a baking tray and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to thaw before baking.
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Recipe
Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
- 125 gr Raw Pistachios, unsalted & shelled
- 175 gr Plain / All-Purpose Flour
- 100 gr Powdered Sugar, or icing sugar
- 1 pinch Fine Table Salt
- 150 gr Unsalted Butter, very cold, cubed
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest, optional
To decorate (optional)
- 75 gr Cooking Chocolate of your choice (dark, white or milk)
- 25 gr Raw Pistachios, roughly chopped
Instructions
Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
- Place the pistachio kernels in the bowl of your food processor and pulsing until you get a relatively fine powder (see note 1).
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients: flour, powdered sugar and salt. Pulse for a few seconds to combine.
- Add the very cold cubed butter and blend until you get small crumbs that are evenly distributed around the dry ingredients (see note 2).
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla (and optionally lemon zest). Mix until a rough dough starts to come together. It should take about 30 seconds to a minute. The dough should be slightly soft and sticky but hold together easily.
- Transfer the cookie dough mixture between two large sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large disk that is about 6 mm or 1/4 inch thick (see note 3). Place the dough on top of a large baking tray and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven on 160 degrees Celsius / 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper (see note 4).
- When completely cold, remove from the fridge and gently peel off the baking paper. Using the cookie cutter of your choice (I used a 6 cm / 2 inch round fluted cookie cutter), cut out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between each cookies (see note 5).
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are very slightly golden. Place on a cooling rack and leave to cool down for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tray.
To decorate (optional)
- Finely chop the chocolate of your choice (I used both dark chocolate and white chocolate). Place in a medium heat-proof bowl and melt until completely fluid, either over a double-boiler or in the microwave in 30 seconds increments.
- Transfer into a pastry bag, cut out the tip to create a small hole and drizzle over the cookies. Alternatively, dip a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle over the cookies.
- Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the chocolate then set aside until the chocolate has set. You can put the cookies in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to speed out the process.
Video
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Notes
- Keeping some larger chunks of pistachio is completely fine if you want more crunch and texture in your cookies. Be careful not to over-blend or the pistachios will start releasing their natural oil.
- Make sure the butter chunks are not large than a small pea.
- I recommend using a rolling pin with thickness rings for even cookies.
- For the best results, I highly recommend using a perforated baking tray combined with a perforated baking mat.
- Any leftover dough can be re-rolled, chilled and cut out again to make more cookies.
Nutrition (per serving)
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