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).
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
Ingredients
- 200 g 1 ⅔ cup shelled, unroasted, unsalted pistachios
- 175 g 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- 175 g 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 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.
Linda says
Hi, just want to clarify; is the 1 2/3 cup pistachios once theyre ground ?
Is powdered sugar the same as icing sugar ? Eggs – small, medium, large – grams?
The Foreign Fork says
The 1 2/3 cup is for the full pistachios. 1 2/3 cup pistachio that are then ground up yields the correct amount of pistachio flour for this recipe. Powdered sugar and icing sugar the same. I use medium eggs, and do not know the measurement in grams.
Chrissie says
Can these be frozen?
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Chrissie, Yes they should be fine to freeze!
Osca says
I just baked these and had one fresh out of the oven. Incredibly delicious and so easy to make. These will immediately go into my cookie rotation.
The Foreign Fork says
So glad you liked them Osca!! I’m happy I can share my love of these cookies with other bakers 🙂 Thanks for the review. Enjoy!
salma says
I’ve saved this recipe for months, finally I tried it yesterday and me and my family loved the cookies! They ate them all in one day! Thanks or the recipe! 🙂
The Foreign Fork says
Woohoo! That sounds like a success to make 🙂 Im so glad your family liked the recipe. Thanks for the comment!
Thodoris Konsoulas says
Thank you for the recipe Alexandria! Everything went well according to your instructions. I liked the chewy texture and of course the flavor. Next time I’ll try orange zest and maybe I’ll try double the quantity for stronger flavor. This cookie and its texture reminds me of a greek favourite dessert named “ergolavos” (εργολάβος) which means “constructor” in english.
The Foreign Fork says
The orange and pistachio would be delicious. Thank you for the review, I’m so glad you liked them!
Nancy says
I made these last night and they are delicious! I think I found my favorite cookie ever. Thank you so much for this recipe!
The Foreign Fork says
What a compliment, Nancy! I’m so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for sharing a review 🙂
Sarah says
I watched several different videos on these cookies and settled on making this one. I am so glad I did – amazing!!! I love that there is no food colouring or plain flour. They are simple and authentic and taste so good. I made them as Christmas gifts and love how rustic they look rather than perfect/neat treats. Now I need to make another batch just for us!!
The Foreign Fork says
I’m so glad you like them Sarah! They are one of my favorite recipes on my site, so it makes me happy that you love them too! Thanks for leaving a review and Merry Christmas! 🙂
Misty Rodrigues says
These look delicious. Unfortunately I do not have pistachios on hand.Do you think you could sub another nut, such as pecans?
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Misty. The pistachio flour is really important to this recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend subbing it out on this one. I do have other yummy pecan and walnut cookie recipes on my site that you can browse though! 🙂
Chelsea says
I really wanted a pistachio cookie on the delicate side and this was exactly what I was looking for. So glad to have found this recipe! They’re light and chewy and just so yummy. I think my husband put it best when he said, “This is one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.”
The Foreign Fork says
What a compliment Chelsea!! So glad you and your husband liked this recipe 🙂 Thank you for leaving a comment!
Connie Ramirez says
Hi I was wondering if I can substitute powdered sugar with powdered monkfruit
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Connie! Unfortunately I’ve never worked with powdered monkfruit before, so I would be nervous to suggest something I hadn’t tried before. If you do try it, I would love to hear how it turns out!