Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

These Pistachio Shortbread Cookies are absolutely divine. They are buttery, crumbly, packed with chopped pistachios, and dipped in dark chocolate - what's not to love?

As a Scot, I am of course partial to a delicious piece of buttery shortbread, but this pistachio shortbread cookie recipe takes things to a whole new level - I think they may be my new favorite thing!  Usually, when I bake things for the blog I give most of them away - but these I kept all to myself because I couldn't bear to part with a single one!

The recipe uses the same basic shortbread as my Traditional Scottish Shortbread recipe, but the method is a little different and they are of course full of lovely nutty pistachios and dipped in chocolate.  

I have so many incredible pistachio recipes on this blog - I'm pretty sure I'm the world's biggest pistachio lover!  From my Pistachio Cake to my Pistachio Muffins, I think I have more pistachio flavor desserts than any other flavor - and for good reason!  

But while some are extravagant, like my Pistachio Dacquoise, these are so simple, with only 5 ingredients.  But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts here as these chocolate pistachio shortbread cookies are out-of-this-world delicious! 

Jump to:

• ​Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
• ​Advanced Tip
• Do You Need to Temper the Chocolate to Dip Cookies? 
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• More Pistachio Desserts
• Recipe

Ingredients

This pistachio shortbread cookies recipe is an easy, melt-in-the-mouth shortbread with added pistachios and dark chocolate.  Unlike butter cookies, classic shortbread only contains 3 ingredients and that is what we use as the base. 

• Butter - As with any shortbread recipe, it is important to use high-quality butter with a high-fat content to make sure you get that wonderful crumbly texture. I like to use Kerrygold. Use salted butter, or if you only have unsalted butter, just add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe with the flour.  
  
• Sugar - Use granulated white sugar.  Some shortbread recipes call for confectioner's sugar, but if you want classic shortbread as it's supposed to be, use granulated (caster sugar in the UK). 
  
• Flour - All-purpose flour is best, we don't want any leavening agents like you find in self-raising flour. 
  
• Pistachios - Of course, you'll need pistachios. I like to make it easy on myself and buy mine already shelled.  You can use unsalted or salty pistachios - this is totally down to personal preference.  It also doesn't matter if you use roasted or raw pistachios as we'll be baking them anyway.
  
• Chocolate - These pistachio cookies are wonderful on their own, but dipping them in chocolate does something magical to them.  I've always thought dark chocolate and pistachio were a match made in heaven, but you could use milk chocolate or even white chocolate if you prefer.  Make sure you use real chocolate and not chocolate chips as chocolate chips have other ingredients in them that stops them from melting properly (so they are bake stable). 

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

The first step of this recipe is making a simple shortbread cookie dough, then we'll add the pistachios and shape the dough. 

1. Make sure your butter is completely at room temperature before beginning.  Put your softened butter into a mixing bowl and mix it with a wooden spoon or spatula just to soften it a little more. 
2. Add the sugar to the butter and mix together, just until combined.  You could use a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or an electric mixer for this, but it's not really necessary as it's easy enough to do by hand.  If you do use a mixer, just make sure to keep it on low speed as we don't want to incorporate too much air into the mixture. 
3. Add the flour and mix until it starts to clump together - it will look kind of like large, chunky breadcrumbs.  Ditch the spoon and bring it together with your hands to form a smooth dough. 

4. Chop the pistachios roughly and put ⅔ of them into the dough.  Reserve the other third for sprinkling on top later.  Use your hands to work the pistachios into the dough evenly.  
5. Tip the dough out onto your work surface and form it into a long log shape with your hands, about the width of a paper towel roll. Wrap the dough log in a large piece of plastic wrap and roll it a little to smooth it out into a neat round shape.
   Chill the dough log for an hour or until it is firm to the touch. You can also make ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.

6. After an hour, preheat your oven to 340°F / 170°C and line a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper.  Shortbread is baked at a low temperature so that it can bake all the way through before the top of the cookie starts to turn brown.  
7. Unwrap the dough from the plastic and use a sharp knife to slice ½-inch rounds, place them on your prepared baking sheet with room to spread. 

8. Bake shortbread for 15-20 minutes.  Bake time will vary depending on how thick you cut your cookies so keep an eye on them and take them out when the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. Baked shortbread still looks a lot paler than regular baked cookies, so you really want to take them out just when the edges are turning, otherwise, they'll be overbaked. 
9. Remove the pistachio shortbread cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

10. Once the cookies are cooled, it's time to dip them in chocolate!  Chop the chocolate into small pieces and microwave in 30-second increments until completely melted.  Dip the pistachio shortbread cookies into the melted chocolate to about halfway.  Shake gently to get off any excess chocolate and then lay on a piece of parchment paper. 
11. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle the top of the cookies with the reserved chopped pistachios. Optionally, sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on there too.  Allow the chocolate to set completely.  
12. Marvel at the beauty of what you have just made and enjoy your wonderful pistachio shortbread cookies with a cup of tea! 

Do You Need to Temper the Chocolate to Dip Cookies? 

You definitely don't have to temper chocolate in order to dip cookies but there are a few advantages to doing it:

First of all, the chocolate will set a lot faster - tempered chocolate will only take a minute or two to set, whereas untempered chocolate takes a long time to set or needs to be placed in the fridge. 

Secondly, tempered chocolate has a nicer finish and will look shiny and professional on the cookie.  We are covering it in pistachios anyway so this might not matter to you too much. 

Lastly, untempered chocolate melts a lot faster at room temperature than tempered chocolate, so it is more likely to make your fingers messy.

Ultimately, you'll still have wonderful chocolate-dipped pistachio shortbreads whether you temper your chocolate or not, but the option is there if you just want your shortbreads to be a touch more professional.  

It's actually a lot easier to temper chocolate than you think.  You can do it easily in the microwave without a thermometer!  Check out my post about how to temper chocolate to find out more.  

Variations

• Leave out the chocolate - Of course, you don't need to dip your pistachio cookies in chocolate.  I think it really adds something to the cookies but they are still absolutely delicious without it!  You could also try other kinds of chocolate like milk or white chocolate. 

• Extra Flavor - For some flavor variation try adding some extracts to your shortbread dough - i think this recipe would go particularly well with almond extract.  

• Different Nuts - You don't have to stick to pistachios!  I love pistachios as they are my favorite nut and the green color makes for wonderful Christmas cookies, but you can make this recipe with any kind of nuts you like!  Try walnuts or pecans. 

• Shapes - You don't have to use the slice-and-bake method for this dough - you could also roll it out and cut into whatever shapes you like, just make sure the shapes are very chilled (almost frozen) before putting them in the oven so they retain their shape.  

Equipment

This pistachio shortbread recipe is so simple and easy, you don't need any fancy equipment for it at all, just basic things you probably have in your kitchen.

• Mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Cookie sheet
• Microwave-safe bowl

Storage

Store your pistachio shortbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.  

You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough in the log shape, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.  To bake, thaw in the fridge overnight and then slice and bake as normal.

Alternatively, you can chill the dough log and then slice the cookies and freeze individual slices so you can bake a few at a time as needed. You can bake from frozen by adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time. So you can have wonderful homemade cookies anytime! 

More Pistachio Desserts

Hey pistachio lover! If you can't get enough of pistachio desserts, check out some of these recipes:

Recipe