These cookies are kind of my ideal – they’re gorgeously chewy in the middle, nice and crisp on the edges and possess a wonderful nutty flavour. This is thanks to not only plenty of toasted pistachios, but also the addition of browned butter and just a slight touch of almond extract.
With some chopped dark chocolate stirred in and topped with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt, these are sure to quickly become a favourite – whether for the holidays or just for a sweet treat throughout the year!
How to Make Pistachio & Dark Chocolate Cookies
First thing you should do is brown the butter, which is important to do first, as you want to give it time to cool down before mixing it into the dough.
I’ve covered how to do this in so many of my recipes, from my shortbread biscuits to my buckwheat kasha.
Add some butter to a small saucepan and set it over medium-high heat. Allow the butter to melt and, once it’s melted, you’ll notice it begins to foam up a bit.
Allow the butter to foam and once that subsides, you’ll begin to notice a nutty aroma coming from the butter and some browned specks begin to appear on the bottom of the pan.
Once you’ve reached this stage, go ahead and remove the butter from the heat and pour it into the bowl. To try to cool it down rapidly, add a bit of chilled butter to the browned butter and stir it in.
This does 2 things: 1) it helps to bring the overall temperature of the browned butter down and 2) it reintroduces some water content to the butter (all of the water present in the browned butter must evaporate in order for it to begin taking on colour).
Let the butter cool until it’s completely room temperature – and even beginning to solidify around the edges. You can move it to the fridge or freezer to speed this up (or stir it over an ice bath), just be sure to remove it before it gets too cold.
During this time, go ahead and toast your pistachios in a 180°C/350°F oven for about 5 minutes. Remove them from the oven and give them a rough chop and set them aside.
Now, it’s time to mix the dough! I prefer doing this in a stand mixer as it’s faster and easier, but you can use a hand mixer with no problem.
So in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, go ahead and add your cooled butter mixture, some brown sugar, some caster sugar, two whole eggs and one egg yolk (this ensures the cookies have a nice, chewy texture!).
Beat on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides periodically, until the mixture is light, pale and aerated. This will take a couple of minutes.
Then, go ahead and mix a good amount of vanilla extract and a touch of almond extract. The latter can be omitted if you’re one of those people who hates almond-flavoured things, but the amount I call for in the recipe is minimal and adds another level of nuttiness to the finished cookies.
Next, add some flour, baking soda, salt and a small grating of nutmeg to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Pour the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture and mix on medium until just combined.
Then, add in our toasted pistachios along with a chopped block of dark chocolate.
I like using chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa and I prefer chopping it myself over using chips – this gives it a varied texture and differently sized pieces of chocolate, which is always fun!
Mix this together on low until everything is just incorporated. Then, scrape the dough onto some plastic and pat it into a rectangle.
Cover it tightly and move it to the refrigerator for at least one hour in order to firm up. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days before portioning and baking the cookies.
When it’s time to bake, go ahead and preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Line some baking trays with parchment paper and get a cookie scoop or sturdy spoon and scoop out some dough balls.
To get a great texture and shape, I like to break the dough ball in half and press it back together before placing it on the sheet.
Top the cookies with a bit of flaky salt and then go ahead and move them to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they’re browned and golden around the edges but very soft in the centre.
Let the cookies cool on the tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely – if you can wait that long!
Dark Chocolate & Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 200 g (14 tbsp) unsalted butter chilled, divided
- 80 g (⅔ cup) unsalted shelled pistachios
- 290 g (2 ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 7 g (1 tsp) salt (see note 1)
- 3 g (¾ tsp) baking/bi-carb soda
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- 150 g (¾ cup) light brown sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar (see note 2)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract optional
- 150 g (5 oz) dark chocolate about 70% cocoa, chopped
- Flaky salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Add 150g (10½ tbsp) of the butter to a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Melt the butter, stirring or swirling occasionally, and cook until it begins to bubble, the bubbles subside and you notice the butter beginning to turn brown on the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and stir in the remaining 50g (3½ tbsp) of cold butter. Cool to room temperature – or until it begins to solidify in places (see note 3).
- Meanwhile, add the pistachios to a rimmed baking tray and move to the oven. Toast for 5 minutes or until darkened and very fragrant. Remove from the oven and roughly chop the nuts. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, bi-carb soda and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cooled butter, the brown sugar, the caster sugar, the eggs and egg yolk. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture is very fluffy and aerated. Beat in the vanilla extract and almond extract, if using.
- Add the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Beat on low speed until just incorporated and no dry spots remain. Add the chocolate and toasted pistachios and stir until just incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap and compact it into a rectangle. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 3 days (see note 4).
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop or a sturdy spoon to portion out roughly 36 2-tbsp-sized (30ml/1oz) balls of dough. Using our fingers, break each dough ball in half, exposing the rough centre, and press it back together. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Arrange, evenly spaced and dispersed, on the 2 sheets.
- One tray at a time, bake the cookies until they're dry and browned around the edges, but still very soft in the centre – about 10-12 minutes. Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Because the volumetric measurement of salt can vary from type to type and brand to brand, I highly recommend using the weight measurement of salt in order to ensure that the salinity is evenly balanced.
- Caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar) is my preferred style of sugar for baking. However, if you do not have it, simply swap out an equal amount of granulated sugar.
- You can move the butter to the fridge or freezer or stir it over an ice bath to speed it cooling, just make sure that you don’t chill it too much. It still needs to be very pliable and not solid.
- If you would like to freeze the dough, portion it out first. Then, instead of baking, move the cookie dough balls to the freezer on the baking tray. Freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight container. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the usual bake time.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
These chewy cookies with pistachios, dark chocolate and brown butter are perfect for adding to a holiday cookie box – or for something different from a typical chocolate chip cookie!
Are you after a pistachio and dark chocolate chunk cookie? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
