Pistachio Butter Cookies

Are these pistachio cookies one of the easiest and most delicious ones ever? Oh yes, they are! Laced with lemon, they are sensationally nutty, melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies perfect for gift giving. Roll them in powdered sugar or glaze them, we cover both ways in this post. 

Originally posted on Dec 2012, this post is updated for text and images. The recipe remains the same.

Also known as butterballs, Mexican wedding cookies and polvorones (a Spanish word), they are cousins to the Greek Kourabiedes (which include an egg in the ingredients).

So take your pick of nationality, but do give them a try. They are amazing! 

I always made them rolled in powdered sugar, back when I was only making almond butterball cookies.

But lately, I had been imagining giving these pistachio cookies as gifts, and in my mind they were glazed. So I had to try that version. It is really wonderful and the glaze helps the cookies stay moist, as it encloses them. 

About pistachios

Pistachios are the seeds from the tree, and it turns out they are from the cashew family. 

These nuts are green yellowish in color and have hard shells that must be opened and removed so the seed can be eaten. They have a lot of health benefits (antioxidants, fiber) and are widely used in Middle Eastern and other cultures both in sweet and savory dishes. Pistachio avocado toast anyone?

I'm a huge fan, really love them! They go wonderfully with lemon, vanilla, white chocolate among other ingredients. 

Pistachios have a reputation for being expensive and hard to shell. Well, there's a truth in that, but that's why there are holiday priorities, haha. How much do you love pistachios? I don't mind shelling them, though I often buy shelled ones.

But just as hazelnuts are a bit of a workout, so are pistachios, but SO worth it, in my humble opinion.

They need to be ground for this recipe. Be careful not to turn them into a paste from over-processing them. They need to be finely ground but not oily. I use the processor. You can chop them by hand of course, if you have the patience.

Be careful when chopping pistachios by hand. They are hard to pin down, and if you start chopping energetically you'll have pistachios flying everywhere.

Vintage Kitchen Tip

Ingredients

They are few and, except for the pistachio, regular pantry staples (image above). 

• Pistachios: use fresh ones that are vibrant in color. 
• Lemon: I use the zest in the batter and it pairs wonderfully with the nuts. If you glaze them, you will also use some of the juice.
• Powdered sugar: a mandatory ingredient as it provides that melt-in-your-mouth quality that is a trademark of this recipe.
• Vanilla: I use paste, but regular pure extract works fine.

Top tips 

• Creaming: butter should be soft, so you can use a spatula to mix it with the sugar, no need for beating. 
• Flavoring: I use lemon zest and add it to the butter mixture (image 1). 
• Flour: when the flour is added it will look like it's too much and that it will never come together into a cohesive dough (image 2). It will, just be patient.
• Pistachios: they're added last (image 3), and again, it might feel as though you won't be able to mix them well. Trust me that it does bind into a wonderful greenish mixture (image 4).
• Keeping: the dough can, at this point, be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 weeks. Always well wrapped in plastic wrap. Make sure no air is in contact with the dough or it will dry out in those spots.

Forming the cookies

I use a cookie scoop (or small ice cream scoop, image below, left). That way they are as even as possible. But grabbing a piece of dough with a teaspoons works fine also, old school.

Take a portion and scoop it onto your hand. With both palms make smooth balls (image below, right). The dough shouldn't be sticky and you should be able to form the rounds easily.

Don't make very large cookie balls. They will take too long to bake and dry out by the time they do. 

Cookie sheet: line it with parchment paper and place cookies as you form them. They should have a few inches between them to allow for some expansion during baking. 

Depending on the material of your cookie sheets you might get away with nothing, not even buttering it, as the dough itself has a nice amount of butter, but I recommend buttering the pan lightly anyway, if not using parchment paper.

They will lightly crackle as they bake and that is fine (image below, right). 

Powdered sugar glaze

This has got to be the easiest, fastest, most versatile, and amazing glaze ever! 

I use it a lot. A lot!

There's more than enough evidence in the recipe archives, from an apple loaf cake to the fantastic lemon poppy seed bundt to the gorgeous brown butter cake. 

How to make the glaze:

This glaze here is one of my favorites because it’s super versatile – you can use any liquid, even olive oil – easy and fast.

I use lemon juice (image above) because there's lemon zest in the batter.

This was my first time glazing these butter cookies, and I think I found a new favorite. A great variation from the classic powdered sugar.

Finishing touches

• Pistachios: top the glazed cookies with finely ground nuts (image above) before the glaze sets.
• Sprinkles: embrace the holiday spirit and add some sparkle with gold, silver or whatever sprinkle you like. I don't like biting into them much, but hey, your cookies your taste!
• Half and half: make both types of pistachio butter cookies, half rolled in powdered sugar and the other half glazed.
• Rolling before baking: you can also roll the entire dough ball in very finely ground pistachios. They will expand during baking and there will be spots here and there. The cookies will also have a deeper nutty flavor. 

Rolling them after baking:

As simple as it gets. 

Put some powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate (image above).

While still very warm, roll the cookies in the sugar until completely coated. If you see that the sugar starts to disappear it means the cookies are still too hot and are melting the sugar. Wait a couple of minutes and try again. 

They won't be evenly coated, because the sugar will adhere more on some parts of the cookie and less on others. And some of it will fall off as you handle them. It is what it is. Whatever amount of sugar's left clinging will make a difference in the flavor.