If you love pistachios and chocolate, this chocolate pistachio cookie recipe is about to become your new obsession. But this isn’t just any cookie—this recipe comes with a special blend of aromatics (flavor boost) that enhances the natural nutty richness of the pistachios, making every bite irresistible. Oh, and half of the butter is replaced with pistachio butter. Game-changer.
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Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just looking for a foolproof recipe for pistachio cookies, you’ve come to the right place.
I call these pistachio chocolate chip cookies, but swapping chocolate chips for chunks changes everything. When you chop a dark chocolate bar, you get a mix of big, melty pockets, smaller bits, and delicate chocolate shavings that weave into the cookie dough. The result? A cookie that's not just studded with chocolate—it’s infused with it.
When I made this Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake (inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate) and saw how well pistachios and chocolate pair together, I knew I had to make a cookie recipe with pistachios. And after tweaking my trusty olive oil and tahini chocolate chunk cookies recipe a few times, these salted pistachio chocolate chunk cookies were born!
📋 Pistachio Cookies Ingredients
For these chocolate pistachio cookies you'll need the following ingredients:
Pistachio Butter: You can make your own by processing pistachio nuts in the food processor until creamy or use store-bought. It should be 100% pistachios without any additives.
Chocolate: To get the same vibes as the Dubai chocolate bar I use both dark and white chocolate. The dark chocolate should be 55% cocoa or more. I don't suggest using milk chocolate because the cookies will be too sweet.
What enhances pistachio flavor?
To make these pistachio chocolate cookies truly unique, I use a Pistachio Flavor Boost—a blend of aromatic ingredients that enhances the nutty, floral, and citrus notes of the pistachios:
- Vanilla extract
- Orange zest (or orange blossom water or ground cardamom)
- Almond extract
- Ground cinnamon or ground mahleb/mahlepi
👉 The flavor boost will still work even if you don't have one of the mentioned ingredients! I use a similar flavor booster in my real pistachio ice cream (no machine needed). Give it a try!
🔪 How to Make Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Learn how to make these salted pistachio chocolate chunk cookies by following this simple step-by-step guide: For the detailed instructions with photos, please see the recipe card ⬇️ at the end of this post.
Step 1: Transfer the butters, aromatics, and sugars to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then add the egg and whisk until you achieve a glossy mixture.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda with the flour.
Step 3: Add the flour mixture, the chopped pistachios and chocolate chunks to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well with a spatula until all the flour is absorbed.
Step 4: Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the cookie dough into balls. Transfer the balls to a plate or container, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
Step 5: Once chilled, gently roll the cookie dough balls between your hands. Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until golden at the edges (the middle should still appear slightly under-baked).
👨🍳 Expert Tips
The difference between a pistachio cookie recipe and the best pistachio cookie recipe is in the details! So, make sure not to skip these tips to make the perfect pistachio chocolate cookies every time:
✅ Mix the aromatics with the butter and the sugar. Fat and sugar have the ability to absorb and carry the aroma of ingredients. By mixing the aromatics (vanilla, zest, spices etc) with the fat and sugar first, you help release and distribute its essential oils more effectively, resulting in more flavorful cookies.
✅ Use high-quality chocolate. The difference is huge.
✅ Use a cookie scoop or a kitchen scale for even sizes.
✅ Scoop the dough before you chill it. This makes scooping easier.
✅ Chill the dough. Transfer the dough balls into a container (it's okay if they touch each other) and chill in the fridge for 12 or even up to 48 hours. This helps the flavors meld and prevents spreading. It also allows the pistachio oils to seep into the dough. The result? A richer, more developed nutty flavor.
✅ Don’t skip the salt. It enhances every flavor (external link) in the cookie. I like to sprinkle with sea salt flakes before baking. The salt sticks to the cookies better.
😍 Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Inspired by Dubai’s viral chocolate bar in order to create this one-of-a-kind cookie.
Pistachio Flavor Boost. A special blend of aromatics enhances the natural nutty richness of the pistachios, making every bite more irresistible.
Double chocolate, double fun. This double chocolate pistachio cookie recipe has both dark and white chocolate chunks for maximum indulgence.
Easy to make, without complicated steps, just pure baking joy.
🍳 More Cookie Recipes
If you tried this chocolate pistachio cookies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
🎥Recipe Video
See how easy it is to make the best pistachio cookies!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Pistachio Cookies (with Flavor Boost)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (80 g) unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 Tablespoon (14 g) vegetable oil (neutral taste)
- 3.5 ounce (100 g) pistachio butter
- ½ cup (100 g) white sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest (loosely packed -see note#1)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground mahleb (or cinnamon -see note#2)
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 1.5 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3.5 ounce (100 g) grams (dark chocolate, 55% cocoa, chopped)
- 1.8 ounce (50 g) white chocolate (chopped)
- ½ cup (60 g) ground pistachios (see note#3)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes ( for sprinkling, approximately)
Instructions
- Transfer the butter, oil, pistachio butter, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, orange zest, mahleb (or cinnamon) and almond extract to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then add the egg and whisk until you achieve a glossy mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda with the flour.
- Add the flour mixture, dark and white chocolate, and ground pistachios to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well with a spatula until all the flour is absorbed.Optionally, reserve some chocolate and pistachios to place on top of each cookie before baking, for prettier presentation.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 12 to 48 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C)Take the chilled cookie dough out of the fridge, form cookie balls and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Each cookie ball should weight approximately 2.3 oz (65 grams).Place 6 cookies in each baking sheet, leaving enough distance in between because they'll spread.
- Lightly flatten the cookie balls and if you have reserved chocolate chunks and pistachios, press them on the surface of the cookies. Sprinkle with some sea salt flakes bake for 10-11 minutes or until golden at the edges and the middle looks slightly under-baked.Bang the baking sheet on your kitchen counter 2-3 times and let them rest on for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.Optionally, when cooled completely, drizzle with 2-ingredient pistachio cream and more ground pistachios. Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
💭 FAQs
Baked cookies can be frozen in freezer bags with the air pressed out of them, but they're much better when frozen as cookie dough balls and baked the day you need them.
How to Freeze:
1. Portion the dough into balls using a cookie scoop or spoon and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Freeze the dough balls for about 1–2 hours, or until firm.
3. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer bag or airtight container and remove excess air to prevent freezer burn (ideally vacuum seal them in packets). You can label with the date and baking instructions.
How to Bake from Frozen
I prefer to take them out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before I'm going to bake them, then bake as instructed the next day.
If you don't have time to thaw, place the frozen cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet and bake frozen for 2–4 minutes longer than the original recipe.
Handletheheat.com has a more detailed guide for how to freeze cookie dough (external link).
To keep your chocolate chip cookies soft after baking, follow these tips:
1. Don’t over-bake (remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly under-baked. They will continue to cook as they cool on the baking sheet.)
2. Use brown sugar (it contains more moisture than white sugar, helping keep cookies soft and chewy).
3. Store properly in an airtight container at room temperature to prevent them from drying out.
👉 Bread Trick: Add a slice of white bread to the container—the cookies will absorb its moisture and stay soft longer.
4. Slightly under bake for softness. If you like extra soft cookies, bake them for 1–2 minutes less than usual.
5. Reheat before eating. If cookies start to harden, microwave them for 5–10 seconds to restore softness.
Charlotte says
Omg, these pistachio chocolate chip cookies are next-level!! I love how the pistachios add a little crunch and that nutty flavor with the melty chocolate—SO good. Made a batch for my roommates, and they disappeared in like 10 minutes.
Makos says
Yay! That’s so great Charlotte!