This recipe for Italian Pistachio Cookies uses only 5 ingredients. The cookies are soft and share the tastes of pistachio and lemon. They are great for a quick cookie recipe any time of the year, and the green color also makes them a great fit for Christmas dessert!
Recipe Origin
When I was living abroad in Italy I developed a very bad/wonderful habit of walking into random bakeries every time I went anywhere. I couldn’t help myself! I would always order something I had never tried before, trying to expand my horizons as much as possible when it came to Italian food.
There was one bakery that stood out to me above all the rest. I don’t remember the name of it, but take me back to Roma and I could walk you there with my eyes closed. And inside this bakery, there was one cookie that crowned every other cookie.
I found myself buying this cookie whenever I walked by Campo Dei Fiori (which happened frequently) and savoring every single delicious bite.
Once I came home I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to buy the cookie whenever I wanted, and was absolutely devastated.
Harnessing the power of the internet, I took to my blog. On my Instagram Stories I described the cookie…. The taste, the color, the shape, the deliciousness.
People around the world were sending me links and photos of cookie recipes that might fit my description, but none of them matched my beloved cookie.
Finally, one of my followers from India messaged me. He had a friend that was studying to be a pastry chef in Italy and he had asked her about the cookie.. She used my clues and gave her best guess; I looked it up. She was right!!
Finally, I had what I needed. I could only find recipes for this cookie with almond flavoring, but, in my opinion, the pistachio is what makes the cookie great.
I adapted the recipes I found and came up with this beautiful creation…. My Italian Pistachio Cookies. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Why Make this Recipe
- Soft Italian Cookie: It’s very rare to find an Italian cookie that is soft instead of crunchy. And while I love the flavors of Italian cookies, I’m not always a fan of the crunchiness (except with biscotti… those are always delicious). This cookie takes the taste of Italian Pistachios and pairs it with a soft, delicate cookie that you will love.
- 5 Ingredients: No need to buy a million extracts or flavorings for this cookie. Simply use the 5 ingredients in this recipe and have a delicious cookie in no time!
- Great for Christmas: Want a unique and delicious cookie for Christmas? This recipe is perfect, especially for it’s green color!
What Ingredients Do I Need to Make this Recipe
- Pistachios: You can buy these in bulk in the health section of your grocery store. Make sure they are shelled (for ease) and unsalted (for taste). Do not roast your pistachios.
- Almond Flour: Almond flour can be found in your grocery store, typically with the rest of the organic flours. I use Bob’s Red Mills. Make sure you buy super-fine flour as opposed to coarse.
- Lemon Zest: The easiest way to zest a lemon (in my opinion) is to run it across the medium setting on a cheese grater. You can also use a lemon zester if you are lucky enough to have one (I am not).
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How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Make the Dough
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use a spice grinder or food processor to grind the pistachios into a fine flour.
In a bowl, combine the pistachio flour with the almond flour. Add sugar, eggs, and lemon zest.
Mix to combine.
Step 2: Form Cookies
Break cookie dough into pieces a little bigger than a walnut shell. Coat hands in powdered sugar and rub on the outside of the cookie dough ball until the dough is covered in powdered sugar.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving indents with your fingers on the dough.
Step 3: Bake
Bake for about 15 minutes. The dough should still be soft, like marzipan.
Bake for 18-22 minutes for a crunchier cookie.
Expert Tips
- When processing the pistachios into flour, make sure to use a high powered grinder. I would recommend a food processor.
- You may need to open the food processor, stir the pistachios, and continue processing. Make sure that the flour is very fine and that there are no hard pistachios left in the flour. You can even run the flour through a sieve to ensure you’ve gotten all of the hard pieces out.
- The cookies are meant to be softer cookies. However, if you want them to be a bit crunchier, like normal Italian cookies, feel free to bake them for about 20-22 minutes instead of the recommended 15.
- If you want a less strong lemon flavor, use about ½ of the lemon zest suggested.
Recipe FAQs
Can I Buy Pistachio Flour?
You certainly can buy pistachio flour if you’d like, however I wouldn’t recommend it. Pistachio flour is incredibly expensive and not typically found in stores. You’d likely need to buy it off of the internet and have it shipped to your house. If you want to do this, you can buy Pistachio Flour here.
However, I recommend buying pistachios and simply grinding them into flour yourself. It is far easier than searching high and low for pistachio flour or paying a large amount of money for a single pound.
Did you like this Pistachio Cookie Recipe? If so, check out these other recipes I’ve picked out just for you:
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Fast and Easy Maple Cookie Recipe
- Cocadas: Coconut Cookies from Bolivia
- Easy Cucumber Salad Recipe with Pistachio
Traditional Italian Pistachio Cookies
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Zester
- Cookie Sheet
- Oven Mitt
- Mixing Bowl(s)
Ingredients
- 200 g 1 ⅔ cup shelled, unroasted, unsalted pistachios, (shelled means no shells on the pistachios!)
- 175 g 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- 175 g 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for coating the outside of the cookies
- 2 eggs
- Zest of one lemon
- Extra powdered sugar, for coating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use a spice grinder or food processor to grind the pistachios into a fine flour.
- In a bowl, combine the pistachio flour with the almond flour. Add sugar, eggs, and lemon zest. Mix to combine.
- Break cookie dough into pieces a little bigger than a walnut shell. Coat hands in powdered sugar and rub on the outside of the cookie dough ball until the dough is covered in powdered sugar.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving indents with your fingers on the dough.
- Bake for about 15 minutes. The dough should still be soft, like marzipan. Bake for 18-22 minutes for a crunchier cookie.
Notes
- Pistachios: You can buy these in bulk in the health section of your grocery store. Make sure they are shelled (for ease) and unsalted (for taste). Do not roast your pistachios.
- Almond Flour: Almond flour can be found in your grocery store, typically with the rest of the organic flours. I use Bob’s Red Mills. Make sure you buy super-fine flour as opposed to coarse.
- Lemon Zest: The easiest way to zest a lemon (in my opinion) is to run it across the medium setting on a cheese grater. You can also use a lemon zester if you are lucky enough to have one (I am not).
- When processing the pistachios into flour, make sure to use a high powered grinder. I would recommend a food processor.
- You may need to open the food processor, stir the pistachios, and continue processing. Make sure that the flour is very fine and that there are no hard pistachios left in the flour. You can even run the flour through a sieve to ensure you’ve gotten all of the hard pieces out.
- The cookies are meant to be softer cookies. However, if you want them to be a bit crunchier, like normal Italian cookies, feel free to bake them for about 20-22 minutes instead of the recommended 15.
- If you want a less strong lemon flavor, use about ½ of the lemon zest suggested.
Mary says
Do these freeze well?
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
yes, they do! You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months 🙂
Rita E says
I’ll be making these soon for a friend. Does the dough freeze well? Because of the powdered sugar I know I can’t freeze them after baking. I should her five pictures of different pistachio cookies, and she said yours looked more like the ones she found in Italy during her travels. They sound delicious!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Rita, yes the dough freezes well! I hope your friend enjoys the cookies 🙂
LMSCSM says
Easy to make and a unique not too of a sweet cookie. Would compliment a plate of Christmas cookies to offset the sweetness of most holiday cookies. My first batch I followed the recipe exactly and they were good. Next batch I played with, making them in boat shapes, made an indent with my finger filling it with strawberry jam then sprinkled lightly with sea salt. Both the original and my playful recipe were good.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Your iteration sounds SO fun! Thank you for letting me know about that, I want to try it now 🙂