Chewy Pistachio Cookies have a soft and chewy center, crisp edges and an incredible flavor. They’re packed with white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped pistachios and a hint of honey flavor.

Other popular cookie recipes to try are these snickerdoodles, chewy chocolate chip cookies, or toffee chocolate chip cookies.

A batch of freshly baked pistachio cookies, baked to a golden-brown perfection, filled with flavor, white chocolate chips, and pistachio bits, ready to be savored.

The Best Pistachio Cookies

My father-in-law and husband both have the same favorite type of cookie: white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. And while I’ll admit they’re one of my favorite cookie flavors as well, macadamia nuts aren’t my first pick of nuts.

But pistachios– well pistachios are hands down my favorite nut. (hi Pistachio Muffins)

So why I haven’t put pistachios into cookies until now, I’m not sure, but I promise I’m never looking back. These sweet, soft and chewy cookies, with a hint of honey flavor and a whole lot of pistachios, are perfection.

Adding honey to the bowl of wet ingredients, capturing the moment as it pours in, contributing its sweetness to the recipe.

Ingredients In Pistachio Cookies

  • Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the dough.
  • Brown & White Sugar: Sweetens and aids in texture; brown sugar adds moisture.
  • Honey: Enhances sweetness and chewiness.
  • Egg: Acts as a binder and provides structure.
  • Vanilla Extract: Enhances overall flavor.
  • Cornstarch: Makes cookies tender.
  • Baking Soda & Powder: Helps cookies rise.
  • Salt: Balances and intensifies flavors in pistachio cookies.
  • Flour: The main structural ingredient.
  • White Chocolate Chips & Pistachios: Add sweetness and a crunchy texture.

White chocolate chips and nuts being added to the cookie dough, then mixed until well incorporated, ensuring a delicious blend of flavors and textures.

How To Make Pistachio Cookies

  1. Melt and cool the butter.
  2. Mix butter with sugars, honey, egg, and vanilla.
  3. Combine cornstarch, baking soda, powder, salt, and flour, and stir into the mixture.
  4. Fold in white chocolate chips and pistachios.
  5. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F and form dough into balls.
  7. Bake pistachio cookies for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.
  8. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

The finished dough rolled into evenly-sized balls, perfectly prepared and ready to be placed in the oven for baking.

Storage

Storage Tips

  • Freeze Baked Cookies: Cool cookies, freeze on a baking sheet, then store in freezer bags with parchment paper between layers. Can be frozen for up to 3 months, but may lose some texture.
  • Freeze Dough Balls: Freeze dough balls on a sheet pan, then transfer to an airtight container/bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Baking Frozen Dough: Bake pistachio cookies directly from the freezer, adding 1-3 minutes to baking time, or thaw in the fridge and bake as usual.

The finished pistachio cookies recipe, with cookies stacked on top of each other and one cookie broken open to reveal its delightful texture and flavor, sure to become a new favorite cookie.

5 from 1 vote

Pistachio Cookies

Chewy Pistachio Cookies have a soft and chewy center, crisp edges, and an incredible flavor. They're packed with white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped pistachios and a hint of honey flavor.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 29 minutes
Servings: 16 cookies

Ingredients 
 

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 and 3/4 cup white all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup roasted pistachios

Instructions 

  • Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. It's important the butter isn't hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
  • Once butter has cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown sugar, white sugar, and honey until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract. Stir again.
  • Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and stir until smooth. Add in the correctly measured (See Note 1) flour and mix until JUST combined. Don't over mix.
  • Gently fold in white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped pistachios.
  • Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with a Silpat liner or parchment paper and set aside. Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls (see picture above for shape and size). Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces (49g).
  • Bake for 8-12 minutes, erring on the side of under-baking to keep them soft and chewy (we like ours right at 9 minutes). Remember, the cookies will bake a little more out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
  • Remove from the oven (If desired, press a few extra chocolate chips or pistachios into the tops of the cookies to ensure even placement of chocolate and to make them look pretty!). Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  • STORAGE:ย We like these cookies best onย days 1 and 2ย of being made. They do last up to a week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor. Toย store: Place in anย airtight containerย and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies areย completelyย cooled before adding to the container.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour, which will yield cakey and less-flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife. I've also included gram measurements with this recipe if you prefer to measure using a scale.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

 

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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2 Comments

  1. Kris says:

    I can’t wait for Fall, so that I can bake again – first up will be these cookies! Thanks, Chelsea!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Yay!! Hope you love them Kris ๐Ÿ™‚