These EPIC crisp and chewy Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with brown butter for extra nuttiness. Thick, nutty, and so indulgent.
If you’re looking for a cookie recipe that encompasses both pistachios and chocolate, then you’re most certainly in the right place. These gloriously buttery, nutty, decadent cookies will be right up your street. I’ve included all my KEY TIPS for making the BEST cookies ever.
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’m quite obsessed with all things pistachio, as some of you may have gathered from the abundance of pistachio recipes here. But I have to say, these are without a doubt the best cookies I have ever made.
These Pistachio and Chocolate Chip Cookies start with a base of brown butter (extra nuttiness!), sugar, and finely ground pistachios. The ground pistachios add another layer of flavour, moisture, and an even chewier texture.
I’ve also thrown in heaps of chopped pistachios and dark chocolate. You can use any chocolate you like for these, so if you’d prefer to go for milk or white chocolate. Feel free to do just that.
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is essentially just regular butter that’s been ‘simmered’ until the milk solids separate and brown. As the butter gets heated, the water within it will begin to evaporate.
The milk solids will also start to separate out of the melted butter. The small solid specks then get toasted in the heat and turn a deep brown colour. This creates a deep, nutty, caramelised flavour.
This recipe is part of my ‘All Things Pistachio‘ series!
This entire series will be full of recipes that all have PISTACHIO. They’re perfect for fellow pistachio lovers.
Any long term readers here will already know I have a deep love for pistachio and plenty of existing pistachio recipes!
This series will be regularly updated with more and more pistachio recipes. So hopefully there’ll be something nutty for everyone.
You can find the rest of the recipes here.
Why you should chill your cookie dough
1) This creates less spreading of the cookies
I find that cookies with a high ratio of fat work best after being chilled. This allows the fat to solidify and thus during the baking process, the fat will melt more slowly. As the fat melts more slowly, this creates less spread of the cookies.
2) Chilling cookie dough improves the flavour
The flavours in the cookie dough have time to mingle and concentrate whilst being chilled. This creates a more intense and deeper flavour. The flour also has time to hydrate which firms the dough and reduces the cookies from over-spreading.
The enzymes in the flour also break it down which allows more more browning and a sweeter flavour.
3) Chilling cookie dough improves texture
This happens due to the combination of the fat solidifying and the enzyme activity. The chilling creates thicker cookies that have a crisp and chewy texture. Whilst non-chilled cookies tend to be softer and often more oily (more so in eggless cookie recipes like this one due to the lack of an emulsifier).
Let’s talk about some of the main ingredients
I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end
- Butter – I like to use unsalted butter as that allows me to be able to control the salt. If you use salted, you’ll want to hold back on the additional salt slightly
- Sugars – a combination of white granulated sugar and dark brown sugar are key
- Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour
- Cornflour – this is sold as cornflour in the UK and corn starch in the US
- Pistachios – I’m using unsalted roasted pistachios here
- Chocolate – I’m using a 70% bar of dark chocolate, I like to use 70-74% in my cookies. Feel free to use any type of chocolate you like but I highly recommend purchasing a bar and chopping it up rather than using pre-packaged chocolate chips
- Almond extract – a little bit really highlights the nuttiness and ramps up the pistachio flavour
The KEY tips for making these Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chill the dough – this is essential for the fat to firm up, flavour development, and improved texture!
- Don’t overwork the dough – this is why we’re mixing in the chocolate chunks and pistachios whilst the flour hasn’t been fully incorporated. This will reduce overworking which can develop the gluten and create tougher cookies
How to make these Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to make brown butter
1+2) Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Once melted, crank the heat up to medium-high and stir with a spatula throughout to prevent the milk solids from sticking and burning
The butter will sizzle and froth as the water evaporates, and the milk solids will gradually separate
3) Keep cooking the butter until those solids turn a deep brown colour
4) Then pour into a large mixing bowl, make sure to get all of those toasted milk solids, that’s where the nuttiness lies! Set aside to cool for around 10 minutes
How to make Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
1+2) Start by placing the pistachios and white sugar into a blender jug and blend into a fine powder. Don’t overdo it here as we don’t want this to turn into pistachio butter
3) Mix the flour, cornflour (cornflour for UK readers and corn starch for US readers), salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Only the baking powder and baking soda need sifting
4) Add the pistachio sugar, brown sugar, and extracts to the brown butter
5+6) Mix everything together well with a spatula. You may need to use the back of the spatula or a spoon to press out any lumps of pistachio powder. Don’t use a whisk as we’re not trying to incorporate air
7) Pour in the milk and continue to mix with the spatula until the mixture starts to thicken up slightly – this will literally take minutes
8) Next, add in the dry ingredients
9+10) Continue to mix the dry ingredients together until almost fully combined
11) Add in all of the chopped pistachios and chocolate of choice. I love using dark chocolate here
12) Continue to mix until the pistachio and chocolate chunks are well distributed and no dry flour remains
13) Scoop out portions of the pistachio chocolate chip cookie dough using an ice cream scooper. Place them in a container or tray lined with baking paper
14) Transfer the cookie dough into the fridge to chill
15+16) After chilling, bake the cookies in a preheated oven (details included in the recipe below) until golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool
Frequently asked questions
Can these cookies be made vegan?
They can be made vegan but the method and recipe does change slightly. Most vegan butters do not brown, so you’re better off using melted vegan butter.
Use the same quantity of vegan butter, but we have to account for the water evaporation in brown butter. So you’ll need to reduce the amount of milk in the recipe by 1tbsp (~15g). I’d also recommend using soy milk over any other plant based milk as it lends the best results.
How long will these Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies keep? And what’s the best way to store them?
I’ve kept the dough balls in the fridge for up to 7 days and it’s been absolutely fine and baked perfectly. They actually taste even better after 3-4 days of refrigeration. The cookies will keep in an air tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or refrigerated for 7-10 days.
If you enjoyed this recipe
Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.
You can also tag me on Instagram at @dish_by_rish. Or follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and TikTok to keep up with all my cooking and baking creations.
Until then, happy baking!
Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
These EPIC crisp and chewy Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with brown butter for extra nuttiness. Thick, nutty, and so indulgent.
Ingredients
For the pistachio cookie dough:
- 115g unsalted butter
- 80g pistachios
- 60g white granulated sugar
- 60g dark brown sugar
- 1tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
- 1/4tsp almond extract
- 4tbsp milk (60g)
- 130g plain flour, also known as all purpose flour
- 20g cornflour (this is cornflour for UK readers and corn starch for US)
- 1/2tsp baking powder (2g)
- 1/4tsp baking soda (1.5g)
- 1tsp salt
You'll also require:
- 100g pistachios, roughly chopped
- 150g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (or any bar of choice, I like to use 70-74%% dark chocolate)
Instructions
How to make brown butter
- Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Once melted, crank the heat up to medium-high and stir with a spatula throughout to prevent the milk solids from sticking and burning
- The butter will sizzle and froth as the water evaporates, and the milk solids will gradually start to separate. These will initially look like cream coloured specs
- Keep cooking the butter and stirring throughout until those milk solids turn a deep brown colour. At this point take the pan off the heat
- Pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl, make sure to get all of those toasted milk solids, that's where the nuttiness lies! Set aside to cool for around 10 minutes
How to make Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start by placing the pistachios and white sugar into a blender jug and blend into a fine powder. Don't overdo it here as we don't want this to turn into pistachio butter
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cornflour (cornflour for UK readers and corn starch for US readers), and salt. Sift the baking powder and baking soda in, they're the only ingredients that require sifting here
- Next, add the pistachio sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and almond extract to the brown butter
- Mix everything together well with a spatula. You may need to use the back of the spatula or a spoon to press out any lumps of pistachio powder. Don't use a whisk as we're not trying to incorporate any air into the dough
- Pour in the milk and continue to mix with the spatula until the mixture starts to thicken up slightly - this will literally take minutes
- Next, add in the dry ingredients to the thickened butter and sugar mixture and continue to mix until almost fully combined
- Add in all of the chopped pistachios and chocolate, and continue to mix until they're both well distributed and no dry flour remains
- Scoop out equal portions of the pistachio chocolate chip cookie dough using an ice cream scooper. Place them in a container or tray lined with baking paper. Transfer the cookie dough into the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours however for BEST RESULTS I would recommend a minimum of 24 hours. The cookies will actually continue to improve in flavour during the chilling process up to around day 3-4.
- After chilling, bake the cookies in a 170'C (fan)/190'C (conventional) - 340'F (fan)/375'F (conventional) preheated oven for 12-13 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. The cookies will still be soft right out of the oven, allow them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool
Nutrition Information
Yield 14 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 293Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 19mgSodium 268mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 3gSugar 15gProtein 5g
This is an automated calculation and hence may not be entirely accurate.
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