If you like pistachios and cookies, then you’re going to love these chewy pistachio cookies. The buttery and soft cookies with white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios have an incredible flavor and texture!
This recipe works perfectly for St. Patrick’s Day! Check out this excellent collection of Fun & Festive St. Patrick’s Day Recipes!
These chewy pistachio cookies have a mild crunch and a lot of flavor while not being overpoweringly flavored like pistachios. We make these pistachio cookies with pudding mix to create a green color in the dough and help to add in that pistachio flavor we love so much. It also helps the cookies to bake up soft and chewy!
As a bonus, the green color of these pistachio cookies with pudding make them PERFECT for St. Patricks Day! A nice change of pace from all of the green mint recipes like my mint chocolate pudding cookies. Mint is a little overdone for this holiday so offering a different alternative to your holiday parties is a great idea!
How To Make Perfect Pistachio Cookies
There are three kitchen tools that will really help you to pull these cookies together quickly and easily. Making pistachio cookies from scratch is much easier when you have these on hand! Parchment paper, which helps to give you nicely cooked cookies and makes clean-up a breeze.
A KitchenAid Mixer, which saves you from doing any of the mixings by hand, and gets you uniformly mixed dough, and a cookie scoop which gives you the perfectly shaped cookies. The cookie scoops come in various sizes and with them, you can get the perfectly rounded mounds of cookie dough and all of the cookies will be the same size for even cooking.
What Goes Well With Pistachio Cookies?
Many people choose to dip their pistachio cookies in white chocolate so that they look even prettier, but we have white chocolate chips inside so we don’t have to (but you can if you want). Serving up your pistachio cookies with a tall glass of milk or a bowl of chocolate ice cream also sounds lie a great way to enjoy them in the comfort of your own home.
Should I Use Salted or Unsalted Pistachios?
Unsalted! Unless you enjoy the idea of eating a salty cookie, definitely choose unsalted pistachios! If you can find them already shelled that just makes life easier for you, otherwise you’ll have to remove the shells yourself before chopping. If you can’t find unsalted pistachios, consider rinsing the salt off under water and drying the nuts before baking. That could help to remove a lot of the saltiness.
Chewy Pistachio Cookies Ingredients
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
-1 egg
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/4 cup milk
-1 small box instant pistachio pudding mix (3.4 oz)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2 cups white chocolate chips
-1/2 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
How to Make Chewy Pistachio Cookies
In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter. Add in the egg, sour cream, milk and boxed pudding mix.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt & baking soda.
Incorporate the flour mixture into the pudding mixture and then mix until well combined.
Add in the white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios. Mixing until combined.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and enjoy!
Chewy Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 small box instant pistachio pudding mix 3.4 oz
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Cream together sugar and butter. Add egg, sour cream, milk and pudding mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt & baking soda.
- Incorporate flour mixture into the pudding mixture and mix until well combined.
- Add in white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios. Mix until combined.
- Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and enjoy! Yields 3.5 dozen cookies.
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Notes
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How To Store Pistachio Cookies?
After your chewy pistachio cookies have cooled completely, you can keep them stored inside of an airtight container or gallon sized Ziploc bag at room temperature. You can keep them like this for up to two weeks, but remember that cookies always taste better fresher!
Can I Freeze Pistachio Cookies?
Absolutely! These cookies freeze really well which means that you can make a batch and stretch it to last as long as possible! A great way to avoid eating too many at one time, and a great way to enjoy a tasty treat whenever the mood strikes. Before eating your frozen cookies, let them thaw at room temperature for a few minutes so that they aren’t so solid.
Can I Use A Different Type Of Chocolate Chip?
Of course you can! While white chocolate chips pair really well with these pistachio cream cookies, a dark chocolate could help to give it a luxurious twist. Choose any chocolate you want and see which one you like best! Let me know in the comments if you tried a different chocolate and how it turns out (I’m curious to know!)
If you enjoyed these Chewy Pistachio Cookies, here are a few more of our favorite cookie recipes you’ve got to try!
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
- The Best Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Cream Pie Cookies
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Lemon Butter Cookies
- Copycat Swig Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
You’re going to love these green colored pistachio cookies with pudding mix because they are delicious, soft and chewy! Everything tasty cookies should be! Try these chewy pistachio cookies soon!
Ivette says
I made these delicious delicacies over the weekend. My family prefers less sweet treats, so I reduced the sugar by half. Also, ran out of all purpose flour and ended up using 50% cake flour. They were absolutely perfect. So soft and airy yet kept their fluffy shape. I loved the dough didn’t need to be refrigerated, which allowed us to make and enjoy them immediately. Definitely a keeper for my recipe book!!
Alison says
Ivette, I love the changes you made and am pleased they turned out so well for you! Thanks for sharing!
Debbie says
I just made these , they are so flat . Was there suppose to be baking powder ?
Jessica says
No, the leavening agent in these cookies is baking soda. Did you soften your butter appropriately? Maybe try reducing the milk to 2 TBSP and bake a test batch of 3-4 cookies and adjust accordingly.
Sam says
Mine always come out in the same lumps that I place them on the tray in. Am I supposed to flatten them before baking? They never spread
Jessica says
Try adding some milk to the cookie dough Sam!
Hillary says
A huge crowd pleaser!
tbird says
You aren’t supposed to add milk to cookie recipes and sour cream is not a good ingredient to cook. I would recommend adding one more egg to this and cut a cup of the white chocolate chips out. This is also very good using confectioner sugar.
Jessica says
Says who? There are millions of cookie recipes with milk added… Sour cream is a fantastic alternative to more fattening ingredients and it’s fabulous to bake with! I use it in my biscuits too. Perhaps try it?
Tbird says
I won’t use sour cream in a cookie recipe. It’s not meant to be cooked. People above have repeatedly mentioned their own issues with using the exact ingredients you provided.
Robyn says
Dear TBIRD, I bake with butter, milk, buttermilk, sour cream, cheese, and yogurt ALL THE TIME! Cookies, quick breads, cakes, etc. I don’t know where you got the idea that dairy products should not be used, but you definitely should try it. It lends a richness and creaminess to whatever you are making. Be brave! 🙂
Kathy says
Tried this recipe and it turned out great! Not one cookie left out of the 3 dozen I made – they left by the handful! I like that they have a cakey type texture. I also didn’t follow directions (my fault). I mixed the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. I mixed in the dry little by little to get a dough and used my cookie scoop to make them a consistent size. I’m making them again tonight for a work part tomorrow! Thank you for sharing.
Alison says
It’s great to hear everyone enjoyed these Kathy!
Carol says
Can you use self rising flour
Jessica says
I don’t, only because I never remember the ratio of leavening to flour… you’re welcome to though! Just adjust it accordingly.
Linda says
I love pistachio cookies!
Olivia says
Us too!
Ree says
I’m sorry but my daughter and I love baking and trying new recipes. These sounded great however, we didn’t like them. After baking the right amount of time, they seemed a bit raw. The next tray I cooked a little longer with similar result. I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t add real pistachios? I won’t be making them again.
Jessica says
These are chewy pudding cookies- they’re softer than normal cookies.
Laura says
Made these according to recipe. They turned out great! Looks just like your pictures and taste delicious! Will definitely make again. Might add toffee bits next time (My mom used to make a pistachio pudding dessert with toffee bits on top… a cookie version sounds like it’d be good).
Thanks for a great easy recipe!
Jonathan says
Super tasty! Made them without the white chocolate chips, but added rainbow sprinkles on top (cooking with a 4-yearold). Only comment is mine were very under-done at 10 mins…had to do 12 mins.
Samuel Salcido says
Amazing turn out, made them for my first assignment in culinary school , theme Holiday , ST Patrick’s Day . Will be making them again !! The whole family lives them
Alison says
That sounds fantastic Samuel! Good luck in culinary school!
Tiffany says
Why didn’t mine come out green?? 😩 they are tasty. I substituted the entire chocolate chips with craisins. But I still want to know how to make them green.😞
Jessica says
Did you use pistachio pudding mix? That’s what adds the green color! Sometimes I add a few drops of natural green dye as well- depends on how green you want them!
Jenna says
Can this dough be refrigerated overnight before baking or is it best to do it right away?
Jessica says
Oh you can absolutely refrigerate the dough overnight! : )
Britt says
These are the most amazing cookies ever! My mom’s chocolate chip cookie recipe also uses sour cream, so I knew these would be great. Had to bake a little longer, but that’s normal for my oven. Thanks so much!
Debbie says
What can I use in place of sour cream? I don’t have any and wanted to use what I had in my pantry/fridge. I do have buttermilk (read online it could be a good replacement) but was worried about it being too liquid-y with the milk already added. Any suggestions?
Jessica says
You can use yogurt or yes, buttermilk in place of sour cream. Initially add just 1/3 cup and see how the texture of the cookie dough is. If it needs more moisture, I’d just add more milk.
June says
Could I substitute almond milk instead of regular milk?
Nellie says
That should work just fine!
barbara says
These cookies are absolutely delicious! My whole family loved them. I have one question. The first cookie sheet came out perfect. The subsequent ones not so much. They spread out a lot on the sheet after baking (it was a cold cookie sheet). I had to throw many away. What am I doing wrong. I followed the directions exactly.
Nellie says
Not sure why the cookies would spread so much…but you could try adding a little bit more flour or maybe just chilling the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking the cookies. Either of those things usually helps to avoid cookies from spreading too much. Good luck!
Debbie says
These cookies were easy to make and taste amazing! The only issue I had was the bottoms browning too fast. I used parchment paper on a non stick cookie sheet. So the next batch I lowered temp to 350 and they cooked more evenly.. Then the next batch I did on parchment and an aluminum cookie sheet and they were the best. Thank you.
Tina says
Is the dough supposed to be sticky
Jessica says
It’s fairly sticky, yes!
Jess says
Is the sour cream totally necessary? Seems odd to me.
Jessica says
You can use yogurt instead. It’s a great way to add a moist, light texture without a ton of added fat. : )
Rosemary says
Can you use regular pudding mix instead of instant?
Jessica says
Yes you sure can! I’ve actually tested both several times and don’t notice a difference!