Vegan Pistachio Cookie Recipe

An easy vegan pistachio cookie recipe ideal for cookie swaps and the holidays. These pistachio cookies are made with a mix of flour and nuts and spiced with cardamom and saffron, then topped with slivered almonds! GF option

Coming at you with a Vegan Pistachio Cookie recipe – because one can never have enough vegan cookie recipes and these are one of the best cookies you will ever try! Well, along with my Pistachio Apricot Thumbprints. Those are pretty amazing as well.

These almond pistachio cookies are a sweet and simple little treat you can bake all year long but they are also great for the holidays because anything with pistachios in it is automatically festive and special.  A touch of cardamom and saffron takes these to the next level! Try them. Trust me, you will love this pistachio cookie recipe for its simplicity!

I don’t even bother rolling out the dough and just scoop up 1 tbsp at a time and shape it into a flat disk. The cookies do not have to look perfectly round. They will spread in the oven as they bake and be just perfect.

The cookie dough is really straightforward. We start by grinding the raw pistachio nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor or blended to make our own pistachio flour.  These are so amazingly good! Bake them 15 minutes for softer cookies and a couple of minutes longer for crunchier. The exact baking time always depends on the oven, size of the cookie etc.

These cookies are a modified version of Nankhatai(Indian shortbread like cookies). They have vibrant flavors that work really well together , pistachios, cardamom and saffron. You can use just vanilla if you don’t have cardamom or saffron. GF option

More Cookie Recipes from the blog:

• Tahini Ginger Cookies
• PB J thumbprints
• Coconut Oil Shortbread.
• Almond Butter Snickerdoodles.
• Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies. GF oil-free
• Ginger Molasses Crinkle cookies. GF.
• Triple Ginger Molasses Soft Cookies
• Tiramisu Cookies. GF

Vegan Pistachio Cookies

5 from 12 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 16 minutes mins

Total: 41 minutes mins

Servings: 20

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

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These easy vegan pistachio cookies are spiced with cardamom and saffron, then topped with slivered almonds! Vegan Nankhatai (Indian shortbread cookies) ideal for cookie swaps and the holidays.

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup flour, I use all purpose
• ▢ 1/3 cup almond flour
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/3 cup raw pistachios
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ seeds of 1 or 2 green cardamom pods
• ▢ 4 saffron strands, or you can use 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
• ▢ 3 tablespoons neutral oil
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk such as almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, or soy milk

topping

• ▢ almond slivers, or pistachios

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Instructions 

• In a bowl, add flour, almond flour, salt, and baking soda and mix well.
• In a blender with a grinder blade or spice grinder or food processor which can grind the nuts, add the pistachios, sugar, seeds of the cardamom pods, and saffron strands and grind until the mixture is powdery. If using a blender, grind by pulsing it for 10 seconds at a time so that it doesn't become too nut buttery.
• Transfer this ground mixture to the bowl and mix well. Then add in the oil and mix in. Add in 2 tablespoons of non dairy milk and mix and then add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time to make a soft dough. A bit sticky is ok.
• Bring the mixture together and knead for 5 seconds so that it's homogenous then put this dough in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit(170c). Remove the dough from the fridge. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, take about 1 1/2 inch ball worth of dough and make a flat disc, and press it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• I like to make these cookies just about 1/4 inch thick. Press either a raw pistachio or some almond silvers on top.
• The dough is going to be soft and will have more moisture. If it's too sticky, chill it some more. Also the cookies will spread a lot so keep them at least 2 inches apart from each other.
• Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. This will depend on your oven, the tray, and other factors.
• As soon as the cookies are getting a bit golden on the edges, they are done. They might be soft to touch but they will continue to harden outside the oven.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Notes

• The cookies can be stored on the counter for at least 2 weeks. For longer shelf life and freshness and flavor, refrigerate them after the first few days. they will last for more than a month refrigerated.
• To make this gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free flour blend or a mixture of oat flour, almond flour, and potato starch. Use 1/2 cup of oat flour, 1/3 cup almond flour, and 1/4 cup of potato starch to replace the 1 cup of flour.
• To make this nut-free, since there are 2 nuts in this cookie and they are making up a good volume of the ingredients, the texture will change considerably  if you replace all of them. You can replace one of the nuts with the other nut or you can use different nuts such as cashews, macadamia nuts as a substitute for one or both of the nuts.
• I have not tried baking them with pumpkin seeds. I think that the flavor and color will be very very different with 2/3 cup of pumpkin seed flour in the mix.

Nutrition

Calories: 83kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 30mg, Potassium: 28mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 9IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Ingredients:

• we use a mix of flour ( I use all-purpose) and almond flour to get that perfect balance of crispy and chewy
•  salt helps bring out the sweetness
• baking soda makes these spread in the oven.
• I used raw pistachios in this recipe
• sugar sweetens the cookie dough without changing the color
• 1 or 2 cardamom pods add the perfect amount of spice to these cookies. You can omit if you don’t like cardamom
• To make these extra special, add 4 saffron strands or, for a budget version, add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
• neutral oil adds richness to the cookies and, along with dairy-free milk, helps bring the cookie dough together
• I like to add press some almond slivers or some extra pistachios on top of each cookie before baking for a pretty presentation

Tips & Variations:

• To make these pistachio cookies gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free flour blend or a mixture of oat flour, almond flour, and potato starch. Use 1/2 cup of oat flour, 1/3 cup almond flour, and 1/4 cup of potato starch to replace the 1 cup of flour.
• Note that we are using blanched almond flour in this recipe which is different from ground almonds.
• Nut-free: since there are 2 nuts in this cookie and they are making up a good volume of the ingredients, the texture will change considerably if you replace all of them. You can replace one of the nuts with the other nut or you can use different nuts such as cashews, macadamia nuts as a substitute for one or both of the nuts.
• I have not tried baking them with pumpkin seeds. I think that the flavor and color will be very very different with 2/3 cup of pumpkin seed flour in the mix.

How to make this Vegan Pistachio Cookie Recipe:

In a bowl, add flour, almond flour, salt, and baking soda and mix well to combine.

In a blender with a grinder blade or spice grinder or in a food processor that is powerful enough to grind the nuts, add the pistachios, sugar, seeds of the cardamom pods, and saffron strands. Grind everything until the mixture is powdery. If using a blender, make sure to only pulse in intervals of 10 seconds at a time so that it doesn’t become too buttery.

Transfer this ground mixture from your food processor back to the bowl and mix well. Add in the oil and mix in. Then, add in 2 tablespoons of non dairy milk and mix and then add in the rest of the milk 1 teaspoon at a time to make a soft dough. A bit sticky is ok.

Bring the cookie dough together and knead for 5 seconds so that it’s homogenous then put this dough in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit(170c) Remove the cookie dough from the fridge. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, take about 1 1/2 inch ball worth of dough and make a flat disc, and press it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

I like to make these cookies just about 1/4 inch thick

Press either raw pistachio or some almond silvers on top.

The dough is going to be soft and will have more moisture. If it’s too sticky, chill it some more. Also, the cookies will spread a lot so keep them at least 2 inches apart from each other.

Put the tray in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. This will depend on your oven, the tray, and other factors.

As soon as the cookies are getting a bit golden on the edges, they are done. They might be soft to touch but they will continue to harden outside the oven. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the pistachio cookies cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. We do this so that they crisp up nicely.

Storage:

The cookies can be stored on the counter for at least 2 weeks. For longer shelf life and freshness and flavor, refrigerate them after the first few days. they will last for more than a month refrigerated.