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. 🙂 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
- 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 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
- optional: pinch of salt
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 (20-22g) 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. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, if desired. 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi there! Do you use raw or roasted pistachio for this recipe? Never used pistachio for baking before and I’ll love to try this!
Hi Jeslyn, either variety works! We usually use unsalted raw pistachios. Roasted + salted is great too– extra flavor.
Hi Sally! Can i make the brown butter icing in advance and refrigerate it for future use?
How long is the shelf life?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi B, icing can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator. You may need to add a splash or two of milk to help thin it out and stir it back to a liquid consistency. Otherwise, the icing does freeze well for up to 3 months.
My mom and I made these cookies for our local Italian festival. We added chopped dried cherries to the batter to make the spumoni favors. Wow!! What a great combo of salty, nutty, tart and slightly sweet.
Wow!!! Going to try these! They look crumbly, do they stay together or very fragile?
Hi Monica, These are more of a shortbread-style cookie. Crumbly, thick, a bit tender in the centers.
How much dried cherries did you add?
This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it! Do you think it would be okay to substitute a plant based milk for milk or heavy cream?
Hi Raya! The icing may not be as creamy, but that should work in a pinch.
These remind me of a Mexican wedding cookie, which I love, but they taste a bit dry (admittedly maybe I overbaked them?). The frosting is amazing but covered up completely by the cookies, so I could only taste it if I ate it by itself. Definitely wouldn’t make these again, but if someone loves pistachios they’d probably like these a lot!! My husband also did not like it. Well written recipe as always though!
These cookies were delicious. I am a huge fan of pistachio anything! I didn’t add the food coloring because I forgot to do it but honestly I don’t mind them not looking green so not sure I would add next time. I added a little orange zest to the batter as another reviewer had suggested and loved the results. For the brown butter glaze, kept it thin and instead of the milk added lemon juice and some lemon zest as I don’t like sweet icing and this gave the cookies a nice tartness to them. I love pistachio. For the perfectionists like me, I weighed my cookies prior to baking so they were all 28g balls to ensure they all looked same size. Love, love, love this recipe!!!
I LOVE these cookies. They’re easy and quick to make, and taste incredible. The brown butter icing is definitely worth the extra 5 minutes.
Sally’s recipes are always so thorough and detailed. I know whatever I make from this site will come out great, especially if I measure by weight.
I’ve made these cookies as is, and also with a ton of orange zest in the dough and icing. It adds a nice brightness!
Orange zest sounds like a fabulous addition, Sweta!
How much sodium per cookie? Please
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
Ive made this before and it was amazing, everyone loved it! I want to make it again but I have unsweetened natural pistachio butter, can i substitute instead of the pistachio crumbs in the dough?
Hi Sarah, the pistachios would no longer be a dry ingredient then, so it would require testing. Let me know if you try it!
I mistakenly bought unsalted pistachios, should I add some salt? Or should I use salted butter? I want to make these for Easter. Thank you!
Hi Anna! Salted or unsalted pistachios work just fine here. You can add an extra pinch of salt if you prefer. Enjoy!
I have not made them yet, but I have used a lot of your recipes and they NEVER disappoint. I do have a question about the brown butter icing. Do we need to dip them into it before it hardens or do you want the brown butter to be hot, dipping the cooled to the touch cookies into the warm mixture? I just got a little confused it says make while the cookies are in the refrigerator, but then after it says the browned butter icing “sets” in an hour.
Thanks!
Hi Kayla! Wait for the cookies to cool, then dip them into the icing (before it sets). The icing will set on the cookies.
This recipe was great, and the cookies disappeared fast! But we’re not great fans of pistachio and didn’t feel there was enough flavor coming through, so we upped the ante and used Macadamia nuts instead. The result was over the top fantastic! Then, just for good measure, we added a cup of white chocolate chips, and there was no going back! The cake was too dry for us, but these cookies are unbelievably good!
why would you make pistachio cookies if you don’t like pistachio?
Really interesting and different! In a good way. Your instructions are so helpful. Using a hand mixer the dough wasn’t coming together. I trusted and kept beating and lo and behold, it worked. Frosting takes these cookies over the top!
Hi! Can you make these ahead of time?& would love to do them for Easter!
Hi Lindsey, sure can! You can cover the 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. Or, see recipe Notes for freezing instructions.
There are times when I read a recipe and just KNOW it is going to be amazing, and this is one of those! I make English shortbread on a regular basis and this was the best variation of shortbread I’ve ever had. I decided to go with a white chocolate glaze on top instead of browned butter…. WOW!
I made these to take to an event this past week and they were a big hit…not too sweet, even with the icing, and delicious! However, I used a 1 tablespoon scoop for them and doubled the recipe since I needed more than 3 dozen cookies and it made more 90! So I think 1 recipe would make closer to 4 dozen than 3!
I used a 1 TBSP cookie scoop and got exactly 3 dozen for a single batch.
Could lemon zest be added to these cookies?
Hi Liz, a touch of lemon zest would be delicious here, either in the cookie or icing. Let us know what you try!
These cookies turned out perfect! Dough was so easy to work with. I skipped the icing and just drizzled with dark chocolate.
Could Almond Flour be used successfully to make a GF version? If so, would I use the same amount of almond flour?
Almond flour is not a simple swap for all-purpose, we don’t recommend it. The best option would be a 1:1 gluten free flour substitute, like Bob’s Red Mill, but we haven’t tested it. Let us know how it goes if you do!
These are the best cookies! I made them into your snowball cookie with the powdered sugar instead of the icing. I do recommend checking the cookies after 10 mins in the oven and when the bottoms are golden they are done. If you wait for the tops to get a light brown you will have a drier cookie. Though some people like that so enjoy either way because these cookies are awesome
I am sure I will try iy, it looks great and easy to make, I wish you have a (click) option where the recipe can be sent direct via email. thx team
I can’t tell you how much I love your blog!!! Always my go to when wanting to bake something sweet!! These cookies are AMAZING!!!!! Came out perfect and I know this batch won’t last long. Thank you for all you do!!!!
These are TO DIE FOR! Added a touch of lemon zest to the icing! They won’t last long!
Forgot to add my 5-stars! 🙂
So amazing! Sally, your recipes never disappoint! My husband and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so we skipped the icing and they were just so delicious on their own. I used salted pistachios. This is a keeper!
these were delicious! followed the recipe exactly, with the brown butter icing on top and sprinkled the extra crushed pistachio bits on it. perfect!
They were a little on the dry side. Used maple and almond flavoring. Would recommend a pinch of salt for glaze.
Edited to add, they taste much better on the 2nd day! Highly recommend replacing vanilla with maple flavoring. So good!
I made these about a week or 2 ago. I put a dozen dough balls in the freezer as a special treat for later date…but the 3rd day I was taking them out because my husband and I had polished off the ones I baked. Spectacular cookies. Tomorrow I’m making the lemon coconut drop shortbread cookies. I know without a doubt they will be just as spectacular. Thanks for all the great recipes Sally.
Hey Sally, loving the flavor of these cookies (our house loves all things pistachio!), and that browned butter is a new fan favorite too!
However, I did run into a small aesthetic issue: my cookies came out flat (very flat) despite the fact that I used a cookie scoop to form the balls, used a scale to measure the ingredients, and chilled the dough for about 2-hours. It’s possible that I let the dough warm up too much after taking them out of the fridge – or maybe when I was blending the mix, too much flour flew out… Any suggestions?
Hi Jennifer, it could be that the dough warmed up a bit too much or that too much flour was lost during the mixing. Or, it could be that your butter was a bit too soft from the start (here’s more on what room temperature butter means). This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading will also have some helpful tips for next time. Thank you so much for giving these a try!
Thank you for sharing the link for “what room temp butter” **actually** means!!! I think that was the issue here. I left the butter out, cubed in the mixing bowl overnight, as it got too late to bake that evening and by the time I got around to it the next day, the butter was extremely soft to the touch and visually greasy. If anything, I thought this was a positive thing as it creamed so well with the other ingredients!
I will try them again this weekend, as they were still a big hit here in our house!
Can I use vanilla extract instead of almond?
Hi Saira, absolutely. 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. Hope this helps!
What about substituting orange extract instead of the almond?