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, Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and now Chocolate Swirl Pistachio Ice Cream 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. ๐ So when they’re gone, check out 30+ other options in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipesโready 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
- Almond Crescent Cookies
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 flourย (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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). 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 Processorย | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Whisk | Green Gel Food Coloring (optional) | ย Light-Colored Skilletย orย 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 pistachiosโyour choice, I recommend saltedโand 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These look DELISH! If I want to omit the almond extract, what would you recommend as a replacement? Would a cherry liqueur work? Thanks! ยจฬฎ
Hi Kara, you can certainly leave it outโit 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 youโd prefer, or pistachio extract if you can find some. Hope this helps!
Hey Sally, these were a hit at Christmas last year. I wanted a little more “pistachio punch” and I’m wondering what would happen if I wanted to incorporate that packet (or part of one) of artificial pistachio pudding mix?! Would I cut out a little of the confectioner’s sugar? Would you even try?
Hi Liss, we haven’t tried a version of these cookies with pudding mix, but it would definitely require some testing and adjustments of the other ingredients to accommodate the added dry ingredients. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
I ended up leaving out 1/4c flour and used 3/4 of a pack of the instant pistachio pudding mix. They turned out pretty good – but I also made that brown butter icing and that icing makes anything DIVINE. I’ll stick with Sally’s OG recipe from now on!!
Do you roast the pistachios first?
Hi Gina, we don’t but you absolutely could!
If I make these with unsalted pistachios (which I have), should I add additional salt?
Hi Deborah! Salted or unsalted pistachios work just fine here. If using unsalted, you can add an extra pinch of salt if you prefer, but itโs not necessary. Enjoy!
Thank you for your help!
These were so easy to make, delicious and impressive looking to take to a dinner party! The icing is a must in my opinion. Everyone loved!
Hello! Iโm making the Strawberry Lemon Drop cookies from your book. I turned the freeze dried strawberries into and powder and measured them to 25g. There is no way it is an actual cup thoโฆ is that what Iโm supposed to be doing?
Thanks! Super excited to make them.
Hi Samantha, the cup measurement is for before you grind them into powder. After you’ve ground them, measure 1/4 cup of the powder to go in the dough, and reserve any remaining for the coating. Enjoy–I love those cookies!
They were great! The package said 28g on it… I used my scale for the weights.
Hello!
I just made the pistachio crinkle cookies from the new cookbook and have a question but wasnโt sure where to post it. When I rolled the cookies in the powdered sugar and baked them, the powdered sugar ended up being really thick with almost a yellow tint similar to conchas and didnโt look like the recipe images. On the cookies that I rolled lightly, the powdered sugar melted into the door before going into the oven. How might I resolve this?
Thank you!
Hi Jessica! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Did you roll the cookies in the granulated sugar before rolling in the powdered sugar? Rolling the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before adding the confectionersโ sugar is key for helping it to stick and preventing that yellowish tint or any melting. We hope you are enjoying the cookbook!
I have a jar of pistachio cream . Can I use that instead ?
How much would I need to use ?
Hi Tayyaba, we havenโt tried pistachio cream in these cookiesโit 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!
I used all the butter I had for the cookies so I made a simple lemon icing and drizzled on top. They turned out fantastic. The little bit of tang went perfectly with the cookie. Great easy recipe. I will definitely make these again.
Baked these cookies, absolutely loved it! I was lazy to make sugar icing, decided to deep cookies in a melted white chocolate.
Recipe is easy with proper instructions, which I always APPRECIATE!
Cannot wait to try other your recipes
It’s good, it was easy as well, I don’t have Almond extract but it’s fine as it is.
hey sally can i keep the dough chilled overnight and make the icing the day before as well?
Hi Yvonne, the dough can chill up to three days. You may be able to make the icing ahead of time, but you’ll have to warm it up again to dip the cookies, it hardens as it cools.
Probably one of my favorite cookies!
I decided to add the food colouring to the icing instead of the cookies, just for fun. Since my brown butter turned out pretty brown/orange, I thought to add blue instead of green to balance it out betterโฆand ended up with bright blue icing lolโฆoops!
Anyway, the cookies taste great and were easy to make!
These were great! I subbed gluten free flour. This usually works really well with your recipes. These were a little crumbly though. (Iโm assuming bc of this substitution) Could I add an egg do you think?
5 Stars & More! I made these for a friend to cheer her up but saved some for me and WOW. The hardest part was shelling the pistachios! I had always hesitated making brown butter but your instructions were perfect! Thank you so much..I couldn’t stop eatting them and will definitely make them again.
Delicious texture and flavor!
I had to shell 8 ounces of pistachios to get a cup (3/4 cup, crushed). I have no paddle attachment for my mixer, so that step was harder. But the work was well worth it! I tried one just after 5 minutes of cooling, then had another. These are fantastic!
I used roasted salted pistachios and the cookies are not too salty. No food coloring. I rolled mine just a little smaller, and got a yield of 48. They baked perfectly in 14 minutes.
These are for a lawn party tomorrow. In the morning I will top some with the brown butter icing; others will get a light dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
These will be great at holiday gatherings.
Thank you, Sally, for all your delicious recipes.
Hello! Do you have any recommendations for converting these into cake pops? Or should I start with the pistachio cupcake base recipe instead?
Hi Jordan! Yes, we would use our pistachio cake or cupcakes recipe to make cake pops ๐
Hello, I love these cookies and will make them for upcoming end of school year gifts to teachers. Can I double the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! Cookie recipes usually double well. So glad you love them!
Hello, I have made these before and they were great. Can I double the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca, you can double this recipe if needed. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Swirl Bread: best semi-sweet bread recipe I’ve ever used. When 2 days old, 15 secs in microwave & spread with butter – super.