These Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies combine creamy white chocolate with crunchy roasted pistachios for a sweet and salty treat. Easy to make, they deliver perfect texture and flavor in every bite!
If you love the subtle nuttiness of pistachios and the creamy sweetness of white chocolate, then these White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies are a must-try. Combining the rich, buttery flavor of pistachios with the smooth, sweet taste of white chocolate, these cookies offer a unique and delectable twist on the classic cookie.
One of the best things about these Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies is that they don’t rely on pistachio pudding mix for flavor or texture. Many recipes use instant pudding mixes to achieve a soft texture and pistachio flavor, but this recipe stays true to the natural, rich taste of real roasted pistachios. By using actual pistachios, you get a more authentic nutty flavor and the added bonus of a delightful crunch.
For more cookie recipes try my pistachio dark chocolate chip cookies , chewy funfetti cookies or pecan chocolate chip cookies.
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Why you will love these Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies
- Perfectly Balanced Flavors: The sweetness of white chocolate pairs beautifully with the slightly salty and rich flavor of pistachios.
- Visually Appealing: The vibrant green of the pistachios and the creamy white chocolate make these cookies as pretty as they are tasty.Bonus this recipe does not use any food coloring or pistachio pudding mix.
- Chewy Texture: The combination of white chocolate and pistachios results in a chewy yet slightly crunchy cookie that’s hard to resist
- Easy to Make: This recipe is straightforward, comes together quicly and does not require any chilling !
- Impressive Yet Simple: These cookies look fancy but are simple to make, perfect for parties ,holiday season or gifting.
Ingredient Notes
- All Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour provides the base for the cookie dough.
- Unsalted Butter: I like to use unsalted high butterfat European butter.
- Sugars: This recipe uses a combination of both light brown and regular granulated white sugar. Light brown sugar has molasses added to it which gives a wonderful texture to these cookies along with the sweetness. The extra moisture from the molasses is what gives these cookies chewiness. White sugar is what these cookies a wonderful crispy edges.
- Eggs:I like to use room temperature large egg.
- White Chocolate: Choose high-quality white chocolate chips or chop white chocolate bars into small pieces for a more decadent cookie.
- Pistachios: Use unsalted, shelled pistachios for the best flavor and texture. You can roughly chop them or leave them whole, depending on your preference.You could also use lightly salted pistachios in case unsalted are not available, make sure to omit the extra salt in the dry ingredients.
- Pistachio Flour/Ground Pistachios: You can use store bought or homemade. To make your own simply place a few pistachios in a food processor or coffee grinder and pulse until you get a fine powder making sure not to over blend otherwise it would turn into pistachio butter.
- Baking Soda: This leavening agent helps the cookies rise and develop a soft, chewy texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract enhances the flavor profile of the cookies.
- Salt: A pinch of salt balances the sweetness and brings out the other flavors.
Step By Step Instructions
Here is how to make and bake these pistachio white chocolate chip cookies. You can use a stand mixer or a hand held electric mixer.Pre-heat the oven to 175C (350 F) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 1. Brown the Butter: Heat the cubed butter in a stainless steel pan over medium heat. The butter will melt and bubble vigorously which is normal. After about 8 minutes, the top will be completely covered in foam. Stir the butter continuously at this point so you can see when the butter has browned. After another 2 minutes, the bottom of the butter should be speckled with amber-brown bits. Take the pan off the heat and pour the butter into a heatproof bowl.Set aside to cool.
Step 2. Whisk the dry Ingredients: In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour, pistachio powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 3. Beat the wet ingredients: In a bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the cooled browned butter and both sugars until light and fluffy for 2-3 mins. With the mixer on low speed beat the egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
Step 4. Mix the wet into dry. To the butter mixture stir in the flour mixture, white chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios until just combined.
Step 5. Scoop out the cookie dough. Using a large cookie scoop, roll out as many cookie balls out of the dough as possible. Arrange the dough balls evenly amongst the prepared baking trays and bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven until golden brown.
Let the cookies cool on the baking trays for about 5 mins. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a kitchen scale: Baking with a scale is faster, easier, and overall much more accurate than cup measurements.
- Use a cookie scoop: Use a cookie or large ice cream scoop for uniform cookies with thick, chewy and gooey centers. The cookie dough balls must be three tablespoons.
- Underbake the cookies: You should remove them from the oven when the edges are just set and slightly brown with the centers still undercooked.
- Baking times may vary: All ovens are different, and your cookies may bake quicker or take longer than the indicated baking time. I recommend checking on them occasionally!
FAQ’s
This has to do with the flour. The flour needs to be spooned and leveled. If you scoop using the measuring cup directly into the flour, it will be compacted. Compacted flour means no spread with your cookies.
Yes! You could easily substitute pistachios with other nuts such as toasted unsalted almonds or cashews.My recommendation would be to use macadamia nuts to turn these into white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
You can, but white chocolate adds a unique sweetness that complements the pistachios. If you substitute, try milk chocolate for a similarly sweet flavor, or dark chocolate for a more intense contrast.
While you can use salted pistachios, it’s recommended to use unsalted ones to control the overall saltiness of the cookies.
Yes, they would still be very delicious but I urge you not to skip this step as you’ll miss out on the rich, nutty aroma and flavor that browned butter brings to these cookies.
Storage & freezing
Store these white chocolate and pistachio cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature.
FREEZING
Freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 30 days. Thaw for 1 hour on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator.
Wrap the raw cookie dough balls in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Freeze up to 30 days.
The frozen cookie dough balls can be baked straight from the freezer. Just add an extra few minutes of bake time.
More cookie recipes to try
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below, I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- 2 cookie sheets
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅛ cups all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup ground pistachios
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup unsalted pistachios chopped
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom sauce pan heat your butter carefully until it is browned stirring continuously. Once browned take it off the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Let it come to room temperature for an hour or so.
- Pre-heat the oven to 175C (350 F). Line two large baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl whisk together all purpose flour, baking soda, ground pistachios and salt.
- In a bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the cooled browned butter and both sugars until pale for 2-3 mins.
- With the mixer on low speed add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- To the wet mixture gently stir in the flour mixture, chopped pistachios and white chocolate chips until just combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop, roll out as many cookie balls out of the dough as possible. Arrange the dough balls evenly amongst cookies trays and bake for 10-12 mins until golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the trays for about 5 mins.Remove from the pan and cool completely on wire rack.Enjoy!
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