Italian Pistachio Cookies Recipe (Easy!)
Updated Apr 14, 2025, Published Mar 15, 2025
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These Italian Pistachio Cookies are soft, nutty, and perfectly chewy! They are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, making them an easy, elegant treat for any occasion!
Try my chocolate crinkle cookies next!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These Pistachio Cookies are a taste of home—they bring the warmth of an Italian bakery to your kitchen! They’re lightly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and coated in just the right amount of powdered sugar. Finely ground pistachios give them a natural green color and deep, rich pistachio flavor in every bite (no food coloring in this recipe!).
A simple, elegant treat that melts in your mouth, just like Nonna used to make! While they shine on festive cookie trays, they’re just as perfect with an afternoon espresso or a late-night treat. You’ll love these Italian cookies!
You’ll also love my Italian pistachio cream and pistachio gelato.
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
Made with simple, high-quality ingredients for that classic, homemade taste.
- Almond flour – Provides a soft, slightly chewy texture with a mild nuttiness.
- Powdered sugar – Adds sweetness and helps create a light, crisp exterior. Using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar makes these cookies lighter.
- Whole Pistachios – Finely ground for a rich, nutty flavor and beautiful color.
- Salt – Enhances the flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warmth and depth to the flavor. Almond extract also works!
- Lemon zest – A touch of citrus brightness to complement the nuts.
- Eggs – Bind the dough and contribute to the cookies’ delicate structure.
- Powdered sugar – Used for rolling, creating a sweet, crackled coating when baked.
Substitutions and Variations
- Almond Flour Swap – Use finely ground hazelnut flour for a deeper, toasty flavor.
- Citrus Twist – Swap lemon and orange zest for a warmer, slightly sweeter note.
- Extra Crunch – Fold in finely chopped pistachios for added texture.
- Chocolate Drizzle – Dip or drizzle with dark chocolate for a decadent touch.
- Flavor Boost – Add a dash of almond or pistachio extract for extra nuttiness.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Italian Pistachio Cookies
Here are the step-by-step photo instructions for this easy cookie recipe. No fancy techniques are required—just mix, chill, shape, and bake! See the recipe card for the printable recipe.
In a food processor, add the pistachios and pulse. The ground pistachios should resemble pistachio flour, not pistachio paste. Add the other dry ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine them.
Prepare parchment paper on a cookie sheet and set aside.
Add the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract to a large bowl.
Mix the egg mixture with handheld beaters until light and pale yellow.
Add the dry and wet ingredients together and mix with a rubber spatula.
Use a cookie scoop to get a tablespoon of cookie dough.
Shape the cookie dough into a crescent shape or a round ball.
Roll the cookie dough ball in powdered sugar to cover.
Place on prepared baking sheet and bake.
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack and enjoy.
This little cookie has a soft center and is bursting with fresh pistachio flavor. It is a traditional Italian cookie that the whole family will love.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
- Room Temperature – Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer-Friendly – Store in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Make-Ahead Dough – Shape and freeze unbaked cookies, then bake straight from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tips
- Grind, Don’t Paste – Pulse pistachios in a food processor until fine flour, but stop before they turn into a paste.
- Generous Powdered Sugar Coating – Roll before baking for a delicate, crackly crust. Dust again after cooling for extra sweetness.
- Low & Slow Baking – Bake at 325°F (160°C) for soft centers and lightly crisp edges—don’t overbake!
FAQ’s
I recommend using unsalted, raw pistachios for the best flavor and texture. If you only have salted pistachios, reduce the added salt in the recipe to avoid an overly salty cookie.
If the dough feels too sticky, add a little more almond flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s easier to handle if it’s too dry or crumbly, mix in a little beaten egg white or a touch of melted butter until it comes together smoothly.
Overbaking is a common cause of dry cookies. Bake them just until the edges are lightly golden. Additionally, measuring your ingredients accurately, especially the flour, can prevent a dry dough.
Almond flour is finely ground from blanched (skinless) almonds, making it light and smooth. Almond meal is coarser and includes almond skins, giving a denser texture. For these cookies, use almond flour for the best results!
You can substitute pistachio flour for the ground pistachios in this recipe. However, it is expensive- for the best texture and balance, I recommend using a mix of pistachio flour and almond flour to keep the cookies soft and light. Too much pistachio flour can make them dense!
More Italian Cookie Recipes
More recipes you will enjoy: Pistachio pesto and apple and pistachio salad.
Try these Italian desserts next: Italian pear cake, Italian ricotta cake, and lemon olive oil cake.
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Italian Pistachio Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ cup pistachios, shelled, unroasted, unsalted
- 1 ¾ cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- powdered sugar , for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchement paper and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grind the pistachios – Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until flour texture forms, but not into pistachio paste the ground. Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix dry ingredients – add the almond flour and salt to the ground pistachios. Mix until well combined.
- Whisk eggs and sugar – In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until combined.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients- fold in the egg and sugar mixture to the pistachio almond flour mixture mixing until a soft and slightly sticky dough forms.
- Shape the cookies – Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to measure portions of dough (about a heaping tablespoon). Shape the dough into balls (or a cresent shape for a traditional Italian look) and roll in the powdered sugar. Optional: place one pistachio on top of each cookie ball before baking.
- Place the dough balls on prepared baking sheet at least one inch apart.
- Bake – Preheat the oven to 325°F and bake for 15–18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges.
- Cool and enjoy – Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- Grind, Don’t Paste – Pulse pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, but stop before they turn into a paste.
- Generous Powdered Sugar Coating – Roll before baking for a delicate, crackly crust. Dust again after cooling for extra sweetness.
- Low & Slow Baking – Bake at 325°F (160°C) for soft centers and lightly crisp edges—don’t overbake!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have this recipe in grams instead of cup measurements. I find that it is more precise when ingredients are weighed and results are always the same. Thank you I will definitely try making these cookies. They look delicious
Hi! Yes, you can switch the conversions right in the recipe card! Enjoy.
Thank you Elena for your response however I don’t find the conversion in the recipe card. Can you please explain this to me
You are right! After switching the recipe card this was removed because the measurements are inaccurate unless entered by manually. I will start adding grams for baking as I prefer this as well! I hope you can still try the recipe!
absolutely easy to make and delicious.
Happy you loved them!
you mentioned adding a bit of baking powder, but don’t see any in the ingredients list. How much do you recommend? My cookies are cooling (without baking powder)
Can’t wait to try them
I didn’t see the bp comment until the cookies were in the oven
No baking powder in this recipe! I did test it with and it worked best without! I edited that part in the recipe list on the blog post! Thanks! I edited that in the recipe card, but forgot in the draft. Thanks!
You will love these chewy pistachio cookies!