Growing up, my knowledge of pistachio was limited to the green and brown cake made with a pistachio pudding packet. While that cake is delicious, at least in my memory, I truly regret waiting until adulthood to try eating pistachio nuts. They have become one of my favorite nuts, especially since giving up peanuts. I eat them almost every day. So these pistachio chocolate chip cookies seem like the perfect way to incorporate two of my favorite flavors - pistachio and chocolate.
This recipe does use a few special ingredients (pistachio flour and milk powder), but they are worth ordering and having on hand.
Anything with chocolate chips and nuts is good in my book, like my chocolate chip pecan cookies or my copycat Levain chocolate chip cookies that are filled with walnuts.
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Ingredients
- Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend - I use Bob's Red Mill for all of my baking recipes. You can use the blend of your choice, but ensure that it contains xanthan gum or you will need to add it.
- Pistachio Flour - This can be ordered online or if you prefer just make your own from roasted unsalted pistachios. Place the nuts into a food processor and chop them to a fine powder. Be cautious to stop the processor before they turn to pistachio butter and you may need to sift the flour to get out any large chunks that remain.
- Salt - The salt here works perfectly to compliment the nuts and chocolate.
- Baking Powder - Baking powder helps the cookies to stay thick and soft.
- Baking Soda - Baking soda provides just the right amount of spread and chewiness.
- Non-Dairy Milk Powder - I use coconut milk powder here. You can use any non-dairy milk powder in place of that (oat milk, rice milk, etc). If you're not dairy free, feel free to substitute dairy milk powder in the same measure.
- Vegan Butter - I use either Country Crock Plant Butter or Miyokos Vegan butter in my baking. Any brand should work fine, just avoid margarine. If you're not dairy free, you can use regular butter in the same measure.
- Sugar & Light Brown Sugar - The mixture of white and brown sugar provides the perfect soft, chewy texture.
- Eggs - Eggs are the binder that help hold everything together.
- Vanilla
- Pistachios - If you're celiac, watch for nuts that might be processed on shared equipment.
- Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Chips & Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
See the recipe card for full ingredient list with measurements.
Do you have to use the specialty ingredients?
For these cookies, the pistachio flour is critical to the cookie structure, flavor and color. However, you don't have to buy pre-made pistachio flour. You can always grind raw pistachios into a fine powder in your food processor. Just be careful to stop processing before it turns to pistachio butter.
Milk powder is pretty easy to find at the grocery store. If you're dairy free, you want to use coconut milk powder for this recipe. I have had luck finding it in the baking aisle at Whole Foods, but most often I just order it from Amazon. If you want to omit it altogether, the cookies will still turn out fine. It just gives a little extra oomph to the recipe.
How to Make Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
STEP 1: Combine the gluten free flour, pistachio flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until well mixed.
STEP 2: Combine the sugar, brown sugar, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
STEP 3: Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 60 seconds more to combine.
STEP 4: Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated.
STEP 5: Add the chocolate chips and pistachios to the cookie dough, reserving some of each for the tops of the cookies. Stir until evenly mixed.
STEP 6: Portion the cookie dough into ¼ cupfuls and place on the baking sheet spaced about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with a little extra chocolate and nuts. Then bake!
How to store cookies
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. They will lose a little bit of their crispy-ness around the edges, but the centers will stay soft and chewy.
How to make cookies ahead of time
You can also make the dough 1-2 days before, cover it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. The cookies will spread just a little less if you bake them straight from the refrigerator, but no adjustments are needed to temperature or cook time.
Finally, you can shape the dough into balls. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them for at least an hour. Then move the frozen balls into a freezer bag or airtight container and store in the freezer up to 3 months. I love doing this as it allows you to have delicious homemade cookies any day of the week!
Recipe FAQs
The most common problem is too much flour or too long baking. When measuring flour, make sure to spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level off the top. Never scoop the measuring cup into the flour or pack the flour into the cup. As far as baking time, do not use color to determine when cookies are done. If you prefer a soft, chewy cookie bake only until the edge of the cookie provides a little resistance if you poke it with your finger.
The answer is almost always not enough vanilla (sweetness) or salt. Try adding a sprinkle of sea salt on top to improve the flavor if you've already baked the whole batch.
Sometimes you need a little of both. Baking powder makes cookies a little thick and softer. Baking soda makes cookies spread thinner and get a little chewier.
More chocolate chip cookies to consider:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill
- ½ Cup Pistachio Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ Cup Sugar
- ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup Vegan Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ¾ Cup Pistachios roughly chopped
- 1 Cup Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cup Dairy Free Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine pistachio flour, gluten free flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and milk powder. Stir until combined. Set aside.1 ¼ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, ½ Cup Pistachio Flour, 1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk Powder, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- Add the vegan butter, sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until fluffy and lighter in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.¾ Cup Sugar, ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar, ½ Cup Vegan Butter
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 60 seconds more.1 Egg, 1 Egg Yolk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Turn mixer to lowest setting and add in the dry ingredients. Once the dry ingredients are about half incorporated, add the chopped pistachios and the chocolate chips to the batter. Reserve a little of the nuts and chocolate to sprinkle on top of the cookies.¾ Cup Pistachios, 1 Cup Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Chips, ½ Cup Dairy Free Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Mix until the dry ingredients are all just combined. Fold the remaining bits by hand if necessary.
- Scoop the dough into balls using a standard size ice cream scoop (¼ cup). Place onto cookie sheets leaving about 2-3 inches between dough balls. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with some of the chocolate chips and pistachios.
- Bake in preheated over for 15-16 minutes, just until edges are set. Immediately after you remove from oven. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove to wire rack.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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