Cardamom Pistachio Cookies, rich and buttery, with a wonderful combination of melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, crumbly and crunchy texture, earthy aroma of cardamom and a subtle warm touch coming from the pistachios. These delicious cookies make a fantastic addition to your holiday cookie wishlist, or just a treat to enjoy with a hot drink all year round.
There’s nothing quite as heart-warming as a kitchen filled with the aroma of freshly-baked cookies, whether it’s the cold season, when we want to cosy up with a hot drink that calls for a good cookie to dunk into, or in summer time, went we bake for potlucks, picnics or afternoon teas.
Inspired by my classic Scottish shortbreadwhich makes the perfect base for this recipe, these cardamom and pistachio cookies are elegant, scrumptious and have that wow factor about them.
Cardamom and pistachios might be more affordable ingredients nowadays, and readily-available in any shop, but their exotic background will always make any dish that uses them stand apart and look sophisticated and decadent.
Jump to:
Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- flour – I used plain, everyday flour for this recipe, there is no need for any raising agents
- cornflour – it’s what makes the cookies crumbly and have that unmistakable shortbread touch
- sugar – I prefer using granulated sugar to get a bit of a texture
- cardamom – freshly ground cardamom cannot be beaten
- pistachios -I highly recommend roasted pistachios for this recipe, you can either get the roasted pistachios that come in a shell, or shelled pistachios that can be toasted in a pan
- butter – I prefer salted butter for all my bakes, the salt balances out the sweetness and creates a beautiful balance
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- add the soft butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them together
- sift in the flour and cornflour, add the cardamoma and half of the ground pistachios and knead everything into a dough
- cover the dough with clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes
- roll the dough to a ½ cm thickness, and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes
- arrange the cookies on 2 baking trays and top with the remaining pistachios
- bake at 180 degrees Celsius ( 350 Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes until golden
- allow them to cool down completely before serving
Expert tips
Using a high quality butter that has a high fat content brings the best results, you get a soft, crumbly cookie base that simply melts in the mouth. I would not substitute it for margarine or spreadable.
The cookies are perfect for freezing, you can shape the dough into a log, cover it in clingfilm, and freeze it. When ready to bake, just slice it, and bake from frozen.
I have baked shortbread cookies before without chilling the dough beforehand, but I came to the conclusion that the room temperature in the kitchen has a lot to do with the consistency of the dough.
If the kitchen is cool, the cookies bake nicely and do not spread, however, a hot kitchen will make the dough too warm, and it’s best to chill the dough before rolling and slicing.
Other shortbread cookies you might like
If you’ve liked this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM , YOUTUBE, Tik , FLIPBOARD and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Cardamom Pistachio Cookies
Cardamom Pistachio Cookies, rich and buttery, with a wonderful combination of melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, crumbly and crunchy texture, earthy aroma of cardamom and a subtle warm touch coming from the pistachios. These delicious cookies make a fantastic addition to your holiday cookie wishlist, or just a treat to enjoy with a hot drink all year round.
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 125kcal
Instructions
-
To make the cookies, add the soft butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them together until you get a pale-yellow colour and silky texture.
-
Sift the flour and cornflour, add the cardamom and half of the pistachios, and knead into a dough.
-
Cover the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
-
Flour the work surface and the rolling pin, and roll the dough to a thickness of ½ cm.
-
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, then arrange them onto 2 baking trays.
-
Top each cookie with the remaining chopped pistachios.
-
Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes.
-
Remove them from the oven, and leave the cookies to cool down onto the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a cooling rack to cool down completely.
Notes
- Using a high quality butter that has a high fat content brings the best results, you get a soft, crumbly cookie base that simply melts in the mouth. I would not substitute it for margarine or spreadable.
- The cookies are perfect for freezing, you can shape the dough into a log, cover it in clingfilm, and freeze it. When ready to bake, just slice it, and bake from frozen.
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg