Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

5 from 1 vote

These super easy cut-out pistachio shortbread cookies are rich, buttery, nutty and simply delicious; perfect for the Holidays!

Prep Time25

Cook Time15

Resting time1

Total Time1 40

Course: afternoon tea, Dessert

Cuisine: british

Servings: cookies

Calories: 144kcal

Author: Sylvie

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.

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.

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.