Description
Pistachio drop cookies bring nutty elegance to classic dessert traditions. Rich Mediterranean flavors and delicate green hues make these cookies an irresistible treat you’ll savor with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Nut Base:
- 1 cup (130 grams / 4.6 ounces) pistachios (salted or unsalted)
Fat Components:
- 1 cup (226 grams / 16 tablespoons / 8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Dry Ingredients:
- ¾ cup (90 grams / 3.2 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 ¼ cups (281 grams / 9.9 ounces) all-purpose flour
Optional Ingredients:
- 1–2 drops green food coloring (gel preferred)
Brown Butter Icing (Optional):
- ¼ cup (56 grams / 4 tablespoons / 2 ounces) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (120 grams / 4.2 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters / 1 fluid ounce) milk or heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Transform pistachios into fine crumbs using a food processor, ensuring a consistent texture for the cookie base.
- Cream butter until smooth and velvety, creating a rich foundation for the cookie dough.
- Incorporate confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts, blending until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Gradually fold in flour and pistachio crumbs, mixing thoroughly to create a cohesive dough. Add optional food coloring for visual appeal.
- Refrigerate the dough for half an hour to enhance flavor development and improve cookie texture.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to soften slightly for easier handling.
- Preheat the oven and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Gently roll dough into uniform spheres, maintaining consistent size and spacing on the baking sheet.
- If dough feels crumbly, warm it between your palms to help bind the ingredients.
- Bake until edges transform to a delicate golden hue, indicating perfect doneness.
- Let cookies rest on the baking sheet briefly before transferring to a cooling rack.
- For brown butter icing, melt butter in a light-colored skillet, watching for golden specks and nutty fragrance.
- Remove browned butter from heat and allow brief cooling before whisking with confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Adjust icing consistency by adding more sugar or liquid as needed.
- Decorate cookies by dipping or drizzling with the aromatic brown butter icing.
- Allow icing to set completely before storing cookies in an airtight container.
- Consume within a week for optimal freshness and flavor.
Notes
- Crumb the pistachios super finely to ensure a smooth, consistent texture throughout your cookies that melts in your mouth.
- Chill the dough before baking to prevent spreading and help the cookies maintain their perfect round shape during baking.
- Brown butter icing adds a luxurious, nutty depth that elevates these delicate pistachio cookies from simple to spectacular.
- Room temperature ingredients guarantee smoother mixing and help create a more uniform cookie dough with better texture.
- Let cookies cool completely before icing to prevent the glaze from melting and ensure a clean, professional-looking finish.
- Store cookies carefully in an airtight container to preserve their delicate flavor and prevent them from becoming stale too quickly.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 249
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg