Sugar cookies themselves don’t seem a big deal outside America for unknown reasons and so the inspiration for these Pistachio Sugar Cookies comes directly from Buuck Farms Bakery and her Lemon Sugar Cookies.

Quite frankly she knows cookies better than most, she's probably the best person to follow if you love cookies (alongside other incredible recipes) and this recipe is simply my take with my own cookie recipe and included pistachios in cookie form like hers.

Why you’ll love these

Soft sugar cookies

The cookies are soft and a little buttery and light without being cakey.

Bold Pistachio flavor

The pistachio paste weaves its way through the cookies and buttercream for a strong flavor profile.

Ingredients and substitutions for Pistachio Sugar Cookies

Butter: Unsalted butter is used for the cookie, but if all you have on hand is salted, that works as a fine substitute, just leave out any salt suggested in the recipe.
Sugar: Confectioners or icing sugar dissolves into the buttercream and the superfine or caster sugar adds to the sugar portion of our cookies creating a nice balance without making them overly sweet.
Eggs: The eggs bind and add structure to our cookies resulting in that soft interior that compliments the sugar and butter.
Pistachios: The absolute star of this dish is the pistachio paste you can make (or buy). Their flavor is unparalled when compared to other nuts so don’t completely recommend substituting, however, you could try hazelnuts or peanuts in equal measure, if you prefer.
Flour: Plain or all purpose flour is best for a nice light cookie crumb.
Baking powder: This helps our cookies rise so they are not stodgy.

Equipment needed to make this

Food processor or Blender / immersion blender: To make the pistachio paste you need a blender or immersion blender and will need to pulse the pistachios frequently to get the paste going, but this is so worth it! That is, if you can’t buy it.

Greaseproof paper: Lining your baking tray will make getting the soft cookies off easy.

Hand or stand mixer: To whip the butter for the dough and that buttercream, this is best done with a mixer.

Mixing bowl: You’ll need two medium mixing bowls to mix the cookie dough and buttercream.

Ice Cream Scoop: The scoop used here creates large cookies with a diameter of 6 centimeters / 2.36 inches.

Offset spatula: A small offset spatula will help you smooth out the buttercream nice and evenly. A butter knife or back of a tablespoon will also do the trick.

FAQ’s for the best Pistachio Sugar Cookies

How do you make pistachio paste?

You need raw pistachios to begin with and for this recipe 140 grams, approximately 1 cup and will need to blanche them to peel fully.

This is done by boiling water and placing your pistachios into a rolling boil for 1 minute. Drain and wrap your pistachios in a clean dry tea towel, rubbing to dry and peel most of the skins off. You might have to peel some portions by hand.

Place into a blender and pulse, scrapping down the sides until you have a paste and the oils from your pistachios are visible. The pistachios might look like a paste and fine at the stage before the oils become visible, so keep pulsing and scrapping until you see the oils forming on the edges of your blender or food processor.

Set your pistachio paste aside where it will keep in a covered and dark space for up to 2 weeks. If you are adding this paste to a dish that doesn’t specify sugar, you can sweeten before finishing up by adding 50 grams / ½ cup confectioner’s or icing sugar to your blender once the paste is formed.

For further reading re the blanching this information was very helpful and this link was helpful in making the paste.

Can I make pistachio paste ahead?

Yes!! This holds for 2 weeks covered and kept in a cool dark place!

More pistachio recipes you’ll enjoy

Turkish Baklava

Pistachio Custard Bars

Pistachio Shortbread

How to make:

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Place the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes.

Add in the egg and beat until well combined and fluffy.

Pour in the vanilla extract and beat until just combined.

Add in your pistachio paste and beat until combined and smooth.

In a separate bowl, place the flour, baking powder and salt and stir.

Toss into your pistachio butter mixture and beat until just combined and smooth.

Scoop up a portion of dough and place onto your baking tray with 1 ½ inches between each cookie.

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and press the center with a flat bottomed glass.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly matt looking.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray before placing on a cooling rack.

To make the buttercream filling, place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes.

Fold in the pistachio paste until smooth.

Take a heaped tablespoonful of the buttercream and smear over the center of the cookie.

Drizzle over a little of the pistachio paste.

Serve up!