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Pistachio Pudding Cookies

These Pistachio Pudding Cookies feature a soft, chewy center with an abundance of nutty flavor!

Close-up of green cookies topped with chopped nuts on a wooden cutting board. Text at the bottom reads "sarahscoopeats.com.

What Makes These Cookies Great

Embrace your nutty delights and explore these Pistachio Pudding Cookies.

When it comes to cookies, there are so many avenues to explore.

There’s chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle, and red velvet, but that’s not even the tip of the iceberg.

Explore recipes from other countries such as matcha cookies or Dutch Christmas cookies. 

Whether it’s a classic taste or a brand new experience within your home’s traditions, there are always new cookies to be tried.

Today, we’ll talk about the story of pistachio pudding cookies – a hybrid of the nuttiness and sweetness of homely cookies. 

Pudding Mix

Pudding mix blends that particular flavor profile with texture; you can substitute it into cookie recipes with an eye on flavor and consistency.

It might strike some as an odd baking ingredient.

On its own, it’s dense enough to be palatable, but its presence can make any baked good too heavy, it possesses a different talent for bringing specific flavors to a good usually considered texture-driven.

The ways that using pudding mix helps are not immediately obvious, but it is a secret to delicious, soft, flavorful cookies

Pistachio pudding mix lends a delightfully nutty flavor and a pretty green hue to the cookies.

It is that subtle richness that the pudding endows to the buttery cookie dough that makes these cookies a winning combination. 

If you love pistachios, or want to learn to, these cookies are for you. 

These cookies are fast to make but that is not all that makes them special.

A wooden plate with several green cookies featuring cracked surfaces. Website URL "sarahscoopeats.com" is visible at the bottom of the image.

The Pistachio Pudding Cookie Process

A good batch of pistachio pudding cookies is its own reward, but it’s not easy.

It can be a laborious process of fiddling with ingredients and techniques. 

There’s lots to balance such as the flavors of sweet (pudding mix) and creamy (butter) and crunchy (pistachios). 

Each of these flavors comes together to hit that sweet spot of cookie texture – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

For those who prefer a creative twist, white chocolate chips or dried cranberries can be added to the recipe as a sweeter, more texturized element.

Of course, you can always spoon a decadent chocolate drizzle over the baked cookies after they have cooled for a finishing taste. 

Lets Get Started

There’s nothing in life quite as wonderful as baking, and nothing compares with the pleasure of sharing home-baked goods with friends and family

A close-up of three round, cracked green cookies on a slate board, with scattered pistachios around them. The text "sarahscoopeats.com" is visible at the bottom.

Pistachio Pudding Cookie Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened: Softening the butter in a cookie recipe gives you a tender crumb, which leaves you with soft and chewy cookies instead of crispy ones.
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar: In a recipe for pistachio cookies, the powdered sugar is not merely a source of sweetness, it’s part of a texture formula that makes the dough soft. It’s essentially you use powder instead of granulated sugar
  • 1 box (3.4 oz) instant pistachio pudding mixThese cookies are especially easy to make due the fact they use an instant pudding mix.
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour: All-purpose flour in most pistachio cookie recipes acts as the support structure, gluing the butter and sugar together, making sure the dough can bake evenly and hold its shape.
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extractIf you add almond extract to a pistachio cookie recipe, it will enrich the nutty flavor profile. When the almond extract is added with an electric mixer, it will be distributed evenly throughout the dough.
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract: The vanilla extract in a pistachio cookie recipe is meant to add layers and roundness to the overall pistachio flavor by adding aromatic richness to enhance the nutty notes and build complexity.
  • 4-5 drops green food coloring: To state the obvious, food coloring gives your cookies that bright green color to show off their pistachio roots. 
A group of green matcha cookies is arranged on a dark surface, with a small scatter of pistachios nearby. The URL "sarahscoopeats.com" is visible.

How to Make Pistachio Pudding Cookies

  1. In a stand mixer bowl, cream the butter until it’s light and fluffy.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, pistachio pudding mix, vanilla extract, almond extract, and green food coloring. Beat until well combined.
  3. Slowly incorporate the flour into the mixture, mixing until a cohesive dough forms.
  4. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or freeze 15 minutes, until firm.
  5. Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  6. Form into dough balls with a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, then space your tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven, just until the edges barely turn golden.
  8. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and reach room temperature.
  9. The cookies store well in an airtight container or in a large bowl with plastic wrap over top. 

Tips and Substitutions

If you followed the recipe, they should be nicely chewy and soft pistachio cookies. 

I like the way these cookies turn out when you add maraschino cherries to the mix.

I think these are the best cherry cookies, as you really get a cherry taste from the cookie.

Simply fold the cherries into the dough before baking. 

Dried cherries add another chewy texture. Dark chocolate also pairs great with both cherries and pistachio, and shouldn’t be overlooked when you try these cookies.

One tip I have is that your butter should be at room temperature before you add it to your dough.

If it is too hot, the butter will begin to prematurely cook the other ingredients. 

Be careful with how many drops of green food coloring you add. You want a soft, mint green color. You don’t want cookies that resemble shrek.

If you need something to add to a St Patrick’s Day spread, look no further. 

You might decorate the cookies with white chocolate on top, shaped like a shamrock.

Actually, you can add your favorite chocolate, from chunks of dark chocolate and drizzled white chocolate to semi sweet chocolate chips.

Close-up of three green cookies with a cracked surface, placed on a wooden board. Pistachios are visible in the background.

Tips for a Shamrock Party

We recommend you use this recipe for a shamrock-themed party near St. Patrick’s Day.

You’ll want to create other shamrock-themed foods to go on your table such as green cupcakes or “pot of gold” soup.

Maybe make a roast as the main course reminiscent of Irish cuisine, and of course, you can’t forget the beer!

To really get in the Irish spirit, play plenty of drinking games and pinch those not wearing green.

After you bake the cookies, be sure to store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, so they don’t become stale before your big day. 

If you love this recipe, there are plenty more on our blog similar to this one, and don’t forget the check out the recipe card for an easily printable version of the recipe.

Pistachio Pudding Cookies

I think you’ll love these Pistachio Pudding Cookies, which feature a soft, chewy centre with an abundance of nutty flavor!

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 41 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 box (3.4 oz) instant pistachio pudding mix
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 drops green food coloring

Instructions

    1. In a stand mixer bowl, cream the butter until it’s light and fluffy.
    2. Add the powdered sugar, pistachio pudding mix, vanilla extract, almond extract, and green food coloring. Beat until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
    3. Slowly incorporate the flour into the mixture, mixing until a cohesive dough forms.
    4. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour to firm up.
    5. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
    6. Using a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop, form the dough into balls and arrange them on the baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
    7. Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or just until the edges begin to take on a slight golden hue.
    8. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

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