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.
Joanne Rebecca says
Thank you for the delicious cookies, I made them twice already. Question did you ever get the cookies burnt on the bottom side? The second time i made it, some of the cookies (maybe 1/4) of them got super burnt on the bottom side. I’m talking about soot black colour. Do you know why this happened? I just dont want ti repeat the same mistakes 😭
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Joanne, I am so glad you like the recipe! That has never happened to me with the cookies, but I am wondering if you oven is too hot on the bottom and making your pan heat up? Perhaps try cooking them on parchment paper for a barrier in between. Let me know if that helps!
Toni McCormick says
A few observations: suggest one add some of the powdered sugar to the pistachios as you grind them to protect from getting nut butter. I also decreased the sugar by 50 grams–that was too much–maybe 25 grams at most.
2nd–my taste preference only–I think these taste MUCH better in the “soft” texture mode. A good compromise would turn oven off (turn the tray around again) after 15 mins leave them in for 3 mins longer.
My biggest issue was the squished looked (again personal preference) the look just isn’t appealing to me so I did an egg shape–used a 1 tablespoon dough scooper to put in my hand for uniform size. Lastly, I did have & used both Pistachio & almond extract (1/4 teaspoon each).
Miriam says
Hi, Alexandria! Greetings to you and everyone from Malaysia. Tried out your recipe today together with my two grown children and we just love it. A thin sweet crust with a soft inside of pure pistachio and almond flour. Totally yummy! We added 1/4 tsp salt and reduced sugar to 100g to suit our taste. This cookie is really special. Quite fast and easy to make too. Thanks so much for sharing. God bless!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Miriam,
Thank you so much for telling me your thoughts on the cookie! It means so much to me! I am so glad you enjoy the texture and taste 🙂
Leslie says
Hi Alexandria! I am in Rome now, and I visited a bakery yesterday where I got a “bocconcini al pistacchio”
I started googling the recipe and came across your blog. I looked up where Campo Dei Fiori is… and sure enough, the bakery I visited is two blocks away! Haha. I wonder if the bakery you went to is Il Fornaio (Via Dei Baullari)? Thank you for developing the recipe. 🙂 I will try it out when I have access to a kitchen again.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Leslie, Yes it is that bakery!! I have never been able to remember what they labeled the cookies that I bought, so I am glad to know the name now 🙂 But yes, if you make these cookies, they will taste just like the cookies you bought!! I hope you love them!
Sherri says
Omg I feel deprived as an Italian to just be learning about these cookies. I have already made them twice for Christmas and I’m making another batch today to bring to a family party! I’m a home baker, I might add them to my menu.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Sherri, what an honor it would be to be included in your home baking menu! I am so glad you love the recipe and that they have been such a hit with your holiday season 🙂 Thank you for the review!
Teresa says
I have blanched superfine almond flour. Will that work in this recipe?
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Teresa, Yes that will work great!
Christie says
These cookies are so easy to make and are delicious. These are in my top 5 favorites!!! YUM.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
So glad you love them Christie!! They are in my top 5 favorites as well 🙂
Tena Backer Bunch says
Can I replace the almond flour with ap flour I can’t eat almonds?
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Hi Tena, I would not recommend this recipe if you cannot eat almonds! Using all purpose flour will change the recipe quite a bit and it will not work as well.
Emilia Baldovska says
Delicious cookies- I love pistachios and definitely make these regularly. I reduced a bit the amount of sugar 1/3 as I’m not a big sugar fun – but they still taste great! 😉
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for the review 🙂
Carolyn Wilber says
I want to make this recipe for Christmas dodder the dough refrigerate well for a couple of days
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Yes you can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours but bring it back to room temperature before baking. Alternatively, you can make them now and freeze them until Christmas! Thaw at room temperature before enjoying 🙂