I call these pistachio drop cookies because they’re little drops of heaven! This is an easy cookie recipe prepared in 1 bowl with just 6 ingredients. Instead of artificial pistachio pudding mix, flavor these pistachio cookies with real pistachios and almond extract. Brown butter icing is optional, but it’s delicious and worth the extra few minutes!
Do you ever catch the baking itch, but don’t know what to make next? Try a pistachio dessert. Seriously! It’s an unexpected and delicious flavor, and the pastel green hue is a lovely bonus.
I’ve shared my favorite Pistachio Cake, Pistachio Cupcakes, Salted Chocolate Pistachio Shortbread, White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookie, and Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies on my website. I love creating and publishing unique desserts using this underrated nut; pistachios are meant for sugar!
Why You Need to Bake Pistachio Cookies Now
Let us count the ways!
- 1 bowl recipe
- Astoundingly easy to make
- Only 6 ingredients
- Only 30 minutes chill time
- Bite-sized & adorable
- Crumbly & soft
- Made with real pistachios
- Topped with brown butter icing
And bonus: this is an egg-free cookie recipe, just like shortbread cookies.
Real Pistachio Flavor
These pistachio cookies are adapted from my beloved snowball cookies, a classic Christmas cookie recipe. I use toasted pecans in my snowballs recipe, but today we’re using pistachios and almond extract. I love using real flavors in pistachio desserts. Did you know that most pistachio cookies rely on artificial pistachio pudding mixes? The pudding mixes are great, but I love baking from scratch when I can. And I know you do too.
These are just like my lemon coconut drop cookies, peppermint snowball cookies & cranberry spice cookies, too!
How to Make Pistachio Cookies
- The first step is to pulse or chop pistachios into very fine crumbs. A small food processor or chopper makes this step easier. Depending on your taste preference, use salted or unsalted pistachios. I love salty sweet flavor combinations, so I use salted.
- The next step is to beat room temperature butter until it’s creamy and smooth.
- Add confectioners’ sugar. Confectioners’ sugar sweetens the cookies and replaces some of the flour. The cookies dry out with too much flour.
- Add vanilla extract and almond extract, then add flour and pistachio crumbs. Most pistachio flavored ice cream gets its flavor from almond extract and it’s absolutely delicious in this easy cookie recipe. If desired, add a drop or 2 of green food coloring.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes, then roll into balls.
- Bake until lightly browned, then top with the optional icing.
(LOL as if brown butter icing is ever optional.)
Brown Butter Icing… you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
Though these pistachio cookies taste great on their own, they taste even better with brown butter icing. I fell in love with brown butter icing when I topped these brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies and this peach Bundt cake. Brown butter icing belongs on everything, including a spoon on a trip to your mouth.
What is brown butter? Browning butter is a method of melting butter that gently cooks its milk solids. Brown butter is nutty, toasty, and caramel flavored. Browning butter takes no more than 6-8 minutes and elevates every single dessert it touches, including icing. Here’s my how to brown butter tutorial. By the way, have you tried my brown butter chocolate chip cookies? You’re in for a treat.
Simply whisk browned butter, confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Dip each cookie into the icing or drizzle on top. Because butter is solid at room temperature, the brown butter icing sets after about 1 hour. This brown butter icing is also delicious on peach Bundt cake, apple blondies, pumpkin oatmeal cookies, and pecan sugar cookies.
These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made and I know you’ll happily agree. The ingredient list is short, the preparation is simple, and the flavor is unique. Fair warning: these bite-sized soft & crumbly cookies disappear quickly. 🙂 So when they’re gone, check out 30+ other options in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
More Quick & Easy Cookie Recipes
- Lace Cookies
- Shortbread
- Mini M&M Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Coconut Macaroons
Pistachio Drop Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 3 dozen
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my snowball cookies, these soft and crumbly pistachio cookies are made from REAL pistachios and topped with brown butter icing. The cookie dough is made from 6 easy ingredients and requires just 1 mixing bowl. There’s only 30 minutes of cookie dough chilling needed, making this a quick cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (130g) salted or unsalted pistachios*
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- optional: 1-2 drops green food coloring (I used 1 drop of gel)
Brown Butter Icing (Optional)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pulse pistachios in a food processor until small crumbs form. See photo above for a visual. You need 3/4 cup of very finely chopped pistachios. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract, then beat on medium-high speed until combined. Add the flour, 3/4 cup pistachio crumbs, and food coloring (if using) and beat on medium-high speed until combined. The dough may not come together at first, but keep mixing. The cookie dough will be thick.
- Cover the cookie dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and up to 3 days. (If chilling for 2+ hours, let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling into balls. The cookie dough will be very stiff after being in the refrigerator that long.)
- Time-saving tip: prepare the brown butter icing (below) while cookie dough chills OR while cookies bake.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, and place dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. If the cookie dough is too crumbly, keep rolling and working it with your hands. The warmth of your hands will help bring it together.
- Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the bottom edges and just barely browned on top, about 14-15 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. Make sure cookies are cool to the touch before dipping in icing.
- Brown Butter Icing: Slice the butter into pieces and place in a light-colored skillet. (Light colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring occasionally. After 5-6 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form and a nutty aroma. Once browned, remove from heat immediately and allow to cool for 5 minutes. (The butter will eventually solidify, so don’t let it sit too long.) After 5 minutes, whisk in the rest of the icing ingredients until smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar for a thicker texture, if desired. Likewise, add more milk to thin out if needed.
- Dip cookies in icing or drizzle on top. If coated lightly, the icing will set after 1-2 hours. Cover leftover iced cookies tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Cookies without icing can sit covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked cookies with or without icing for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough or cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Food Processor | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Whisk | Green Gel Food Coloring (optional) | Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet
- Pistachios: You need 3/4 cup of very finely chopped pistachios in this cookie dough. As instructed in step 1, begin with 1 cup of salted or unsalted pistachios—your choice, I recommend salted—and pulse them in a food processor until small crumbs form. See photo above for a visual. Only use 3/4 cup in the cookie dough because any more will make the cookies too crumbly. If you have extra, use as garnish on the icing or sprinkle over ice cream, cake, salad, and more!
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Use confectioners’ (powdered) sugar. Don’t use granulated sugar. The cookies will over-spread and have a granular texture.
- Light Colored Icing: The darker your brown butter, the darker the icing. I remove the brown butter from the stove right away, so it’s a lighter shade of yellow making the icing a lighter shade as well. I use heavy cream in the icing. It’s thicker than milk and will create a creamier, whiter icing.
Do you use the roasted pistachios – the typical bag of shelled roasted and salted nuts
Hi Paula, we don’t use roasted pistachios. You can use salted or unsalted pistachios—-your choice, but personally I recommend salted. Enjoy!
Hi, made these yesterday! Best cookies ever, so delicious. Definitely a super easy bake. Mine did spread and didn’t keep there cute little ball shape. Any tips on this. TIA.
Hi Laila, check out this post with 10 tips to prevent cookies from spreading. Hope this helps!
The first picture of the cookies has the icing look nice and thick. The end picture icing is more like a transparent glaze?????
I just returned from Sicily with a jar of pistachio cream. Every bake with this and could I substitute it for the ground pistachios?
Hi Lorraine, we haven’t tried pistachio cream in these cookies—it would definitely take some experimenting, since the ratio of wet to dry ingredients would change when using cream. Let us know if you do try anything!
This recipe sounds amazing. However, I am not a fan of almond extract, can you suggest a substitution? Or is there pistachio extract available?
Hi Kim, you can certainly leave it out—it would simply lessen the pistachio flavor. The almond extract really amplifies it in recipes, since pistachio is pretty subtle. But you could certainly use more vanilla extract instead if you’d prefer, or pistachio extract if you can find some. Hope this helps!
Do you have a gf version ?
Hi Maona, we haven’t tested a gluten free version of these cookies, but let us know if you try anything.
These are sublime! I just made them yesterday and everyone adored them, I will definitely make them again. I’m also very curious about how these would turn out with peanuts instead of pistachio and chocolate on top, will experiment for sure! Thank you so much for sharing ♥️
So easy….looked professional……very delicious. Thank you.,Sally
Hi these cookies look delicious. I was wondering if nondairy milk can b subbed for the milk/heavy cream? Thanks
Hi Tina, absolutely. The icing may not be *quite* as thick, but that will be a fine substitution. Enjoy!
These came out soooo delicious with the brown butter icing too
I have pistachio meal that I purchased at a baking class. Can I use the same amount (using the weight) in this recipe?
Hi Jennifer, how finely ground is your pistachio meal? See the photos in the post or the video in the recipe card for a visual—you’ll want finely chopped pistachios with some chunks left.
Put too much pistachios and the dough is now crumbly how can I fix this
I’m wondering IF pistachio butter could be used in place of the other way? If that would be a game chamger.
I just gave away a batch of pistachios.
Hi T, that would require additional testing to determine the best amount, and what other ingredients would need to change. Let us know if you test anything!
I loved the recipe, i tried it twice but when i bake it the cookie keep getting burn from the bottom , i even lowered the oven temperature.
Hi Kanchan, are you using dark pans by chance? Darker pans can often cause the bottoms of cookies to bake faster and become burnt. Lowering the oven temperature should help, as well as moving the cookies another rack away from the heating element. We’re glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Love this recipe! Can I add coconut to them the next time I make them….if yes how much should I add? Thank You!
Hi Renee, we’re so glad these are a favorite for you! We haven’t tried incorporating coconut here—it would take some testing to ensure results, but you could try replacing some (not all) of the chopped pistachios with sweetened shredded coconut. Or you might enjoy these lemon coconut drop shortbread cookies instead.
I put the full cup of pistachios on accident my dough is too crumbly now what can I do to fix this
Hi Jareer, there isn’t much you can do at this point to remedy the dough. You can certainly still bake it, just note that the cookies may taste a bit dry and crumbly.
Loved making this with the kids! It was so easy to just sit back and supervise while they followed the instructions. Delicious!!!
AMAZING recipe but where can I find the Nutritional Fact label like most recipes?
Thanks,
Pascale
Hi Pascale, we’re so glad you enjoy the cookies! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Delicious biscuits and easy to make