Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
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These Pistachio Shortbread Cookies are made with 5 ingredients only! They are buttery, tender, snappy, and loaded with pistachios.
These Pistachio Shortbread Cookies are the perfect holiday cookies. They are so easy to make with just 5 ingredients. Plus, they taste amazing and look beautiful.
These are also make-ahead and freezer-friendly. The cookie dough can be made and rolled into a log, stashed in the fridge or freezer, and then sliced and baked as needed.
Ingredients You Need
- Salted butter. I like to use salted butter for this recipe because it tastes more savory than unsalted butter. You can also substitute salted butter with unsalted butter. Make sure to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to enhance the flavor.
- Confectioners’ sugar. To sweeten the cookies. Confectioners’ sugar gives a softer and, melt-in-your-mouth texture to your cookies. Do not substitute it with granulated sugar or the cookies will be dense and coarse.
- Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavor.
- Cake flour. Cake flour is a lower-protein flour. It has about 7-9% protein compared to the 10-12% protein in all-purpose flour. Using cake flour will make the cookies crisper, lighter, and more tender. You can also substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour but the cookies will turn a little bit denser.
- Pistachios. You can use both raw or roasted pistachios for this recipe. I prefer to use raw pistachios because they give a more vibrant green color to the cookies.
The Best Flour to Make Shortbread Cookies
You can use both all-purpose or cake flour for shortbread cookies. I personally like to use cake flour because it gives light, crisp, and tender textures to the cookies. If you use all-purpose flour, I find them softer and chewier than the ones made with cake flour.
If you don’t have cake flour but still want these lighter cookies, try converting from all-purpose flour to cake flour. Take one cup of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled. Remove 2 tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch to the all-purpose flour.
Variations
You can try adding other mix-ins to the dough, such as dried cranberries or chopped almonds. When adding extra mix-ins, reduce the amount of pistachios accordingly. You can also add more flavor to the dough, like adding orange zest for a hint of citrus.
Make Ahead
The cookie dough can be made and rolled into a log, stashed in the fridge or freezer, and then sliced and baked as needed. The log can be refrigerated up to 3 days in advance. Meanwhile, feel free to also freeze the log of dough for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then bake as directed.
More Shortbread Cookies Recipes
- Zebra-Striped Matcha Shortbread Cookies
- Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
- Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies
- Lemon Thyme Shortbread Cookies
- Masala Chai Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp (100 gr) salted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (43 gr) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 gr) cake flour
- 1/2 cup (63 gr) pistachios
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix salted butter and confectioners' sugar with a spatula until well combined. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
- Sift in cake flour. Mix until well incorporated.
- Add pistachios and mix until well combined.
- Press the dough into a round log, about 1.5-2 inch or 4-5 cm in diameter. Wrap the dough with a plastic wrap. Shape into a square log if preferred.
- Chill the log in the freezer for 30 minutes until very firm.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 300F/150°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat.
- Slice the log into 1/3 inch or 1 cm thick cookies with a sharp knife. Arrange the slices at least 1 inch or 2.5 cm apart on the baking pan.
- Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes until the bottom edges of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool them completely before transferring them into an airtight container.
