The easiest and most delicious Italian Pistachio Cookies ever! Soft and a little fudgy in the center, with crunchy pistachios on the outside, these cookies are ready in under 30 minutes. Make sure to double the recipe because these babies disappear FAST.
If you like pistachios (my homemade pistachio paste and marshmallows with pistachios are two more of my favorites), you’ll love these cookies!
I haven’t always been a fan of pistachios. In fact you could say that I used to hate them, which would be much closer to the truth. But now? I can’t get enough of them.
So what changed? One fine summer morning (summer in the southern hemisphere) six years ago (almost to the day), I was introduced to a little cookie that blew me away with first impressions. And changed my mind. The meeting was far too brief for my liking, and I never got its name, but the memory of it lingered.
Eventually I will return to that meeting place and reacquaint myself with that cookie many times in the following years. And then I moved away and I never heard from it again. And that’s when I decided I will take matters into my own hands and clone it in my kitchen. So I did.
The name had always eluded me but that doesn’t really matter. Lets just call these Italian Pistachio Cookies, because something this alluring has got to be European right? All kidding aside, they actually are Italian cookies, as you may find them named elsewhere on the Internet.
It was February 2009. My aunt wanted to show me Little Italy in Haberfield, Sydney, where she was going to get herself some Olives and few other deli items. So I went along. She took me to a little Italian bakery (the name of which I cannot remember unfortunately!) along Ramsay street, where I found all kinds of colourful and positively delicious looking Italian sweet treats.
I just wanted to get a Rum Baba, but my aunt also got me some Pistachio cookies and Cannolis! And then we went to a place called Pasticceria Papa and got a big piece of their famous Ricotta cheesecake!
If those exotic sounding words haven’t already convinced you, let me say it again. Those were little pieces of heaven in my mouth. Those cannolis are still the best I’ve ever had, the Rum Baba tasted amazing, and the cheesecake was the creamiest Ricotta cheesecake I’ve had so far.
But the star was undoubtedly (and surprisingly) those soft, slightly fudgy / chewy Italian Pistachio cookies! They had lovely, crunchy pistachios on the outside and a soft center. I could have eaten them all day.
As long as I was living in Sydney, I was able to catch a bus ride to Little Italy and get some of those cookies. But when I moved North along the coastline a couple of years later, I had to find a way to recreate them.
I developed the recipe over several years and tried numerous batches before I got something that was very close to what I had first had in Sydney. And it’s so easy! You only need 4 ingredients: Pistachios, Almonds, Sugar and Egg whites (and no flour and no butter). It takes less than 30 minutes from start to end. I hope you like it just as much as I do! 🙂
The trick to baking these perfect Italian Pistachio Cookies is the baking time! You only want to bake these cookies until the bottom of the cookie is just lightly browned. You don’t want the top of the cookie to brown too much (only the edges!) because then these aren’t going to be too soft in the middle.
The baking time depends on the shape and size of the cookies. If you make cookies that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, then they will need about 15 – 17 minutes in the oven. If you make cookies that are about 1 inch in diameter, they only require 10 – 12 minutes.
I like to make crescent shaped cookies as well! When I make these Italian Pistachio Cookies in a crescent shape, I first make a 1 1/2 inch cookie ball and then shape into a crescent shape. These will be ready after baking for about 12 minutes. Because of the shape of these cookies, they take a shorter time to bake than their “ball” counterpart.
For this recipe, I made 1 inch round cookies and crescent cookies made with 1 1/2 inch rounds. So that the baking time is the same for both.
If you love Pistachios this is the cookie for you. However, even if you’r not a fan, you should still try them! 🙂 Because these cookies are what turned me to the green side! Besides they are so easy to make, why not give them a try?
Soft in the center, a little fudgy, not too sweet and dairy free and gluten free! You can also check out my homemade pistachio paste for a deliciously nutty and sweet pistachio butter, or these orange blossom marshmallows with pistachios for more pistachio goodness!
I always make a double batch, because trust me, they are not going to last very long! So my advice is, make a double batch secretly, and then pretend like you only made one. You won’t be sorry! 🙂 And if you’re making these for the holidays, check out my collection of candy recipes, cookie recipes, and Christmas recipes for more holiday favorites that everyone will love!
More holiday-worthy cookie recipes you’ll love
- Shortbread cookies
- Chocolate shortbread cookies
- Chocolate chip & cranberry shortbread cookies
- Thumbprint cookies
- Linzer cookies
- Soft ginger cookies
- Funfetti cookies
- Best chocolate chip cookies
- Double chocolate chip cookies
- Chocolate hazelnut cookies
- Thyme and cheddar cheese cookies (savory cookies)
- Savory thumbprint cookies
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Italian Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients:
- 8 oz / 226 g + another 1.7 oz / 75 g raw pistachios
- 4.8 oz / 135 g sugar
- 4.8 oz / 135 g blanched sliced almonds
- 2.6 oz / 74-75 g egg whites (about 2 egg whites, but measure out to make sure)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla optional
- Confectioner’s sugar to dust on top optional
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 165°C / 325°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the first measure of pistachios, almonds and the sugar. Process until the nuts are ground (with no large chunks left). Transfer the ground nuts and sugar into a clean dry bowl.
- Mix in the measured egg whites (and vanilla if using, this is optional) with the ground nuts and sugar, and mix with a wooden spoon until you get a slightly sticky ball of dough. You will need to mix well to make sure the dough comes together. If needed, add extra egg whites (1 tsp at a time).
- Chop the extra 75 g of pistachios into smaller, coarse pieces and set aside.
- Round cookies – Using a cookie scoop or wet hands, portion out the cookie dough to make round cookies (with a diameter of about 1 inch), and roll each one in the coarsely chopped pistachio nuts. Place these cookies on a prepared cookie baking tray and flatten them slightly.
- Crescent cookies – Using a cookie scoop or wet hands, portion out the cookie dough (with a diameter of 1.5 inches) to make the crescent cookies. Roll this dough ball into slender cylindrical shape, and then shape it again into a crescent. Dip the top of the cookie in the coarsely chopped pistachio nuts. Place these cookies on a prepared cookie baking tray, nut side up.
- Bake them in the preheated oven for about 10 – 12 minutes, until they just start to turn brown at the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely. The cookies will be soft when warm, so they must be cooled down before being moved. Dust them with some icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar (optional).
- This recipe makes 23 – 26 cookies, and you can keep them in an airtight container for a few days.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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Dawn says
Could you use peanuts instead of pistachios
Dini says
Hi Dawn
Unfortunately I haven’t tried to make these peanuts. Peanuts have a higher oil content, that might interfere with the consistency, but it could be possible.
Hope that helps
Asma says
Can you add craisins to this recipe?
Dini says
Hi Asma
I haven’t added any to the cookies because the traditional version doesn’t have any other additions. But it could work!
Hope that helps
Amara says
Just made these using almond flour and roasted/salted pistachios and they’re incredible!! A little salty so I would probably use unsalted pistachios next time. I dipped the bottoms in dark chocolate for an extra kick.
Nicola Lagonigro says
Great very easy recipe. These are a huge hit!
Sakura says
Allergic to almonds- any ideas for a replacement, please, cuz they look great! 🙂
Dini says
Hi Sakura
You can replace the almonds with more pistachios! 🙂
Hope that helps!
Holly says
Could I use roasted pistachios? How would it affect the recipe?
Dini says
Hi Holly
I haven’t made this with roasted pistachios, so I can’t be certain of the final result. I expect that the pistachios will be more roasted / toasty after baking, but otherwise there shouldn’t be a huge difference in the final cookie.
Anna says
So easy and delicious! Not too sweet either.
Joseph Scarpelli says
When I was a kid in Brooklyn NY my grandma from Sciacca Sicily used to make us these for Thanksgiving. I made them again today using your recipe and it brought me back. Thank you. JOE S.
Kay says
Hi, is there a reason why the pistachio in my cookies turned soft when I bake them? They were crunchy when I mixed them in the dough and i left the dough to chill in the fridge for 2 days before baking
Dini says
Hi Kay
When you leave nuts soaking in a wet dough for a few days, they will absorb moisture and lose their crunch. I usually don’t leave the dough in the fridge for too long because it’s an easy dough to whip up whenever I want to make these.
Also, these cookies once baked will be a soft cookie inside as well.
I hope that helps!
Anitha says
Hi Dini,
Do we need to peel the skin of the blanched almonds and does it need to be dried before blending with pistachios? Pls clarify.
Thankyou.
Dini says
Hi Anitha
Blanched sliced almonds are already skinless and dried almonds that have been sliced, so they can be blended with the pistachios.
I hope that helps!
Anitha says
Thanks a ton, looks tempting but I have regular almonds only, so I will try with these and share the output.
Amy says
They were a hit. So good. We dipped 1/2 of each cookie In melted dark chocolate.
Julia says
I don’t have almonds to ground up but I have almond flour. Do you think it’s possible to substitute? Thank you
Dini says
Hi Julia
Yes you can use almond flour. I preferred grinding my own almonds to give the cookies that extra texture, but you can use almond flour instead.
I hope that helps!
Grace Lee says
I had quite a bit of pistachio and didn’t know what to do with it.. so i googled it and stumbled across your recipe. Made them today and posted it on my ig story but I forgot to tag you!
Just wanna say this is easy and it taste really good.. my second batch, i might have bake it too long but all is well. thank you for this recipe!
Ms. DVo says
WOW. I looked through 20 pistachio cookie recipes before trying yours, since it had the least amount of ingredients (plus NO butter or oils!) and seemed quickest to make. I’ve never even eaten pistachio cookies but I bought bags of pistachios to eat as snacks and thought there had to be an easy yummy recipe out there for pistachio cookies. Thanks again!
Neeraja Hariharan says
I loved them . Got complimented by my son who is always apprehensive about my baking skills