Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

These pistachio shortbread cookies are casual yet festive, special yet unfussy. They have all the best qualities of a great holiday cookie. Crushed pistachios add an extra crunch to the famously buttery texture of shortbread, and a double dose of vanilla is such a delicious flavor pairing with the nuts. I roll the edges in sugar to give them a little bit of sparkle that gives this simple cookie a little holiday flair.

ingredient notes for pistachio shortbread cookies

• PISTACHIOS: I used roasted, salted nuts for these cookies, but you can use any kind you prefer. If you use raw, shelled pistachios, consider toasting them in the oven after shelling them for additional flavor.
• BUTTER: Shortbread cookies are all about the butter. I use a good quality unsalted butter (usually Land O’ Lakes.) If you have the chance to use a European butter like Kerrygold or Plugrá ~ they have a higher butterfat and lower moisture content than regular American butter which makes them ideal for making shortbread.
• SUGAR: I use a regular granulated sugar in the dough and for rolling the edges of these cookies. You can use a coarser grained sugar for rolling if you’d like – it gives a little extra crunchy texture and sparkle.
• VANILLA EXTRACT: vanilla adds extra flavor to these simple cookies. You could if you like use almond extract, or a combination of the two.

tips for baking shortbread

I love shortbread cookies for their buttery flavor, dense texture, and endless flavor possibilities. I also love them because they are so simple to make. Over the years I’ve sifted through hundreds of comments on these recipes and here are a few key takeaways to keep in mind as you make your pistachio shortbread cookies:

• Know what to expect
  • shortbread has a dense, crumbly texture, so if you’ve never had it before, know that this is normal, and it’s what us shortbread lovers love about them!
• Your dough will look crumbly at first, but this is normal
  • the dough should come together into a dense but workable texture with proper mixing.
  • If you are finding that you just cannot get the dough to come together, make sure your butter is actually at room temperature, and that you haven’t over-measured your flour and accidentally added too much.
• Shortbread works well as a slice-and-bake dough
  • you can roll it into a log, chill in the fridge, and slice into round cookies before baking. The advantage of this method is that you can chill or freeze a log of dough and bake when you’re ready.
  • If you want to help insure that the log of dough stays round while it chills, you can wrap the log in a thick towel first.
  • slice and bake does not work as well when there are large inclusions in the dough like large chocolate chips or large nuts, as they interfere with neat slicing.
• You can roll out shortbread dough and cut out your cookies with a cookie cutter
  • you’ll get neater, more uniform circles this way. I prefer this when my dough is chunky with add-ins.
• Shortbread cookies are very delicate and soft when they first come out of the oven
  • so leave them to cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before gently transferring them to a baking rack to cool. They will harden up as they cool.

Variation ideas for pistachio shortbread cookies

Sometimes I’ll add dried cranberries to the dough. Actually, fresh cranberries would work, too! (Check out my Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies.)

Many other types of nuts can be used. I think pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds all work well.

• Butter Pecan Shortbread
• Maple Walnut Shortbread Cookies
• Buttery Pecan Sandies
• Hazelnut Sandies
• Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Dip your pistachio shortbread cookies in chocolate! Use white or dark chocolate, and just dip half of the cookie and let it dry on a sheet of waxed paper.

Brown your butter: browned butter adds an extra layer of toasty flavor to these pistachio shortbread cookies. Brown the butter and then let it chill overnight to harden up.

• Melt butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it foams, turns golden brown, and develops a nutty aroma, then immediately remove from heat to prevent burning.

Featured comment on Pistachio Shortbread Cookies:

My mom has been begging me to make her some pistachio cookies. Came across this recipie and wow these cookies are absolutely delicious! The buttery flavor of shortbread is perfect with the pistachios. I will defiantly be making this again. ~CARLY

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

3.94 from 179 votes

Pistachio shortbread cookies are simple and festive ~ they're crisp and buttery with a touch of sparkle for the holidays and beyond!

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Prep Time:10 minutes minutes

Cook Time:15 minutes minutes

Chilling:3 hours hours

Total Time:3 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 28 cookies

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Equipment

• stand mixer optional
• 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling the edges of the cookies
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole pistachios, chopped, I use salted and roasted nuts

Instructions

• Cream the butter and the sugar together, scraping down your bowl as necessary. I use a stand mixer but you can also do this by hand.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Fold the flour into the butter and sugar until it comes together to form a dough. It will be crumbly, but make sure all the flour gets incorporated.
• Fold in the pistachios and make sure you get them well distributed in the dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together into a flat disk. Roll out to 1/3-1/2 inch thick. I sometimes like to top my dough with parchment or plastic wrap to make rolling easier.
• Cut out your cookies with small 2" cookie cutter, you will have about 2+ dozen. Roll the edges of your cookies in sugar.
• Refrigerate the cut cookies for an hour. (You can also do this overnight.)
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Roll the edges of the cookies in sugar and place on a parchment lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The cookies will still be pale and soft, but will firm up as they cool. Note: shorter baking will result in a softer cookie, longer time will make them crispier.
• I like to roll the edges of the cookies again in sugar for an extra sparkly look. Let them cool on the pan just until cool enough to handle, and then gently roll the edges in the sugar. The cookies need to be warm for the sugar to adhere, but be careful because they are delicate at this stage.
• Cookies will last up to a week at room temperature. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

*This recipe was first published in 2013. It has been updated and rephotographed in 2024.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, Christmas, cookies, dessert, holidays, nuts, shortbread

Nutrition

Calories: 260 kcal · Carbohydrates: 23 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 17 g · Saturated Fat: 9 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 35 mg · Sodium: 2 mg · Potassium: 114 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 8 g · Vitamin A: 442 IU · Vitamin C: 0.5 mg · Calcium: 16 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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