I always make a batch of pistachio shortbread cookies during the holidays, but everybody loves them so much we now make these delicious buttery cookies all year long!
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
Equipment
- stand mixer optional
- 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition
more shortbread recipes to try
- Brown Sugar Shortbread
- Chocolate Walnut Shortbread Cookies
- One Shortbread Dough = 20 Recipes!
- Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
- Maple Oat Nut Shortbread
I made these cookies with the following additions @ the time I added the vanilla:
1/2 tsp. Ground cardamom
1 tsp. Crushed saffron threads (I used saffron sourced from the Middle East that a Persian friend had gifted me)
The cookies didn’t last: everyone loved them!!!
I have now used this recipe over six times and it never fails! It is a family favourite, and today I swapped out vanilla and pistachios for almond extract and glacé cherries and I have the most delightfully pink dough chilling in the fridge! Thanks for sharing such a solid, delicious, and easy recipe!
I should add that as we are a vegan household, I use plant-based margarine baking sticks and the cookies still turn out perfect! Buttery and crispy without the dairy!
That’s great to know Nikki, I have all sorts of shortbread cookie recipes so this is useful, thanks.
Now you have me wanting to make the cherry version 🙂
These sound amazing! I wonder if we can use chocolate covered pistachios for this recipe? I picked up a bag a Costco the other day!!! ????
I don’t see why not!
These sound amazing!! I want to make them tomorrow i do have a question, do you chop the nuts?
I did not for this recipe, but you can if you prefer to do it that way.
I made these and they were amazing!!!! I dipped them halfway in dark chocolate.
That’s a brilliant idea 🙂
Tried it and loved it…. thank you so much for sharing
I don’t have corn starch but would love to try this tonight. Can I substitute the cornstarch with almond flour?
That should work fine, and you can also just use all regular flour.
Found cornstrach so all is good. Is it normal to have the dough crumbly before being chilled? This is my first time making shortbread!
The dough should be thoroughly combined and not be too crumbly May. But shortbread does have a crumbly texture after being baked, if that makes sense.
Just read Michelle Lewis comment – ‘turned off the oven and did the traditional drying of shortbread until oven cools w door ajar’.
I have never heard of this and would love to know more. Sounds interesting and would love to know why and how it effects the final result.
I hope you have the answer for me Sue. 🙂
Stumbling in rather late, again! Your pistachio shortbread cookie reminded me of a wonderful pairing of pistachio with cardamom, often used in the royal Mughal desserts of India. This recipe could perhaps be a nod in that direction by mixing in about 1 tsp of cardamom powder with the sugar and omitting the vanilla. Will the exclusion of the liquid of the vanilla change the texture of the shortbread?
Thank you so much for the recipe, I made them for my dad for father’s day, I don’t know what he thinks yet because it’s a surprise. I tasted them though and they were great, I made smaller rolls so I ended up with over 50 cookies. I would make these again.
Great, I hope he loves them Kasey!
Add mini chocolate chips and this is my FAVORITE recipe ever. I could eat a whole batch at once.
Ooooh I like that!
Has anyone tried adding cranberries to recipe? I’m going to try!
I like the way you think! You could add dried or even fresh.