This recipe was originally posted June 29, 2018 and updated on April 12, 2021.
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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 cookies seem like the perfect way to incorporate two of my favorite flavors – pistachio and chocolate. No pudding mix required. This recipe does use a few special ingredients (pistachio flour and milk powder), but they are worth ordering and having on hand.
How do you make pistachio chocolate chip cookies?
Making cookies is one of my favorite activities. It’s so easy to do provided you follow the instructions. You can be enjoying these delicious cookies in less than an hour.
For cookies you will start by beating your room temperature butter for about 2 minutes until it’s soft. Then add the sugar and brown sugar. Beat them together for 2-3 minutes until the batter becomes light and fluffy. Add your egg and egg yolk and beat about 60 seconds to combine. Then add the vanilla.
All of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and milk powder) should be mixed in a separate bowl. Add them all at once to the batter and stir on low. Once the dry ingredients are about half incorporated, add in your nuts and chocolate. Continue stirring or stir by hand just until everything is combined.
Scoop and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven.
Can you make these cookies ahead of time?
Sure!
If you want to bake the cookies ahead, they will stay fresh about 3 days in an airtight container. They will lose a little bit of their crispy-ness around the edges, but the centers will stay soft and chewy.
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!
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.
If you love cookies, check out these other great recipes!
Gluten Free, Dairy Free Chocolate Sunbutter Cookies
Gluten Free Vegan Pecan Sandies (shortbread cookies)
Gluten Free, Vegan Thin Mint Cookies
To pin this recipe for later, click the save button on any image in this post or the recipe card. Please tag me @wellfedbaker on Instagram if you make this recipe!
Ingredients
- ½ C Pistachio Flour
- 1 ¼ C Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Milk Powder link above
- ½ C Vegan Butter vegan or regular or Coconut Oil, room temperature
- ¾ C Sugar
- ¼ C Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg + 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- ¾ C Pistachios roughly chopped
- 1 C Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ C 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, GF flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and milk powder. Stir until combined. Set aside.
- Please the butter (or coconut oil) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed 1-2 minutes until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the sugars and beat on medium speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs, beat 30-60 seconds more.
- Add Vanilla.
- Turn mixer to lowest setting and add in the flour mix.
- Once the dry ingredients are about half incorporated, add the chopped pistachios and 1 C dark chocolate chips to the batter.
- 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. Place onto cookie sheets leaving about 2-3 inches between dough balls. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with some of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Bake in preheated over for 15-16 minutes, just until edges are set. Immediately after you remove from oven, sprinkle a few more chips on top of each cookie to make them extra chocolate-y!
- Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove to wire rack.
- Makes 14, large 4" wide cookies