Happy National Cookie Day! Do you have a favorite cookie? I always find it so hard to pick a favorite. I love and appreciate each one’s distinct flavor combination and personality. And speaking of cookie personalities, if you were a cookie, which would you be? Would you be a warm and comforting chocolate chip cookie? Are you more of a sweet and tart lemon cookie or a sassy and sophisticated macaron? According to a ridiculous cookie personality quiz I recently took with my teenage daughter, my personality is Sugar Cookie. Even though I like sugar cookies, it was a little disappointing. But, my daughter got peanut butter cookie as her personality and she doesn’t even like peanut butter, so we took it with a grain of salt. I was hoping for a more exciting cookie though…maybe something chocolaty or these fabulous Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These cookies are good. Really good. I first made them about 10 years ago after discovering them in an old Neiman Marcus cookbook that belonged to my dad. It’s a goldmine of great recipes. It wasn’t until sometime in my 30’s that I embraced desserts with nuts in them and gave these cookies a try. I love the crunch, interest, and extra layer of flavor that nuts add. The pairing of white chocolate with nuts is already hugely popular as evidenced by the always trendy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie. This one is just as good and a great one to include in your Christmas cookie line-up.
Aside from the addition of pistachios and white chocolate chips, the rest of the ingredients are basic ones – butter, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and old-fashioned oats. The oats add a little texture to the cookies and complement the brown sugar really nicely. As far as the pistachios go, do yourself a favor and buy the pre-shelled ones. It’s no fun to shell over a cup of pistachios (your fingers won’t be happy). They are a little pricey, but worth it for special occasions. I used roasted/salted ones, but you can use any.
This recipe makes a lot of cookies (between 3 and 4 dozen depending on the size you scoop them). I baked half of them and froze the other half of the dough balls in a freezer-safe bag. To freeze the cookie dough, scoop out the dough balls onto a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour. Once the dough balls are frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and place in the freezer. It’s a great way to have fresh-baked cookies any day of the week. Freeze them now to give as gifts to friends and co-workers on Christmas week.
I drizzled some of the cookies with melted white chocolate and also dipped some in it and added chopped pistachios. It adds a special touch. Using dark chocolate for this would be delicious too. Consider adding these delicious and distinctive Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies to your holiday baking list. They’re always a hit.
Other great cookies:
Strawberry & Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies are crispy outside, soft inside. They are filled with flavorful pistachios and creamy white chocolate and taste of warm brown sugar.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces white chocolate chips
- 1 1/3 cups pistachios, coarsely hand-chopped
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and oats.
-
Using a mixer, beat butter and light brown sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until well blended.
-
With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture until well incorporated.
-
Fold in white chocolate chips and pistachios by hand.
-
Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, drop heaping teaspoons of cookie dough balls spaced 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
-
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to cool for on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then, finish cooling cookies on wire rack. Once cooled, store in a covered container.
Leave a Reply