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pistachio cookie on parchment paper

Chewy Vegan Brown Butter Pistachio Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 11 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Chilling Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

These soft and chewy vegan pistachio chocolate chip cookies are stuffed with pistachio cream, chopped pistachios, and gooey chocolate chips! Made with a nutty dairy free browned butter, no eggs and SO easy!


Ingredients

Scale

Pistachio Cookie Dough:

  • 1 cup (180 g) vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 bar vegan chocolate, chopped into chunks
  • 1 cup (100 g) unshelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (57 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour*
  • 12 tbsp dairy free milk

Crema al Pistacchio (Pistachio Cream):

  • 160 g (about 4 bars) vegan white chocolate
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) pistachio butter*

Instructions

  1. Prep: Measure out all ingredients. Roughly chop the chocolate and pistachios. We’ll make the cookie dough first, chill it, and while it’s chilling we’ll make the pistachio cream. Then we’ll bake the cookies!
  2. Brown the butter: In a medium saucepan, heat the vegan butter on medium heat, constantly stirring until melted. Continue heating until light brown flecks appear in the butter. Then remove from heat and pour into a large bowl to cool for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Make the dough: Once the butter has cooled slightly, add in the brown sugar, sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, almond extract (optional), baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk together until combined. Then add in the flour. Switch to a silicone spatula and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients JUST until mixed. Use the dairy free milk to help if the dough is not coming together easily.
  4. Fold in the pistachios and chocolate chips: Add in the pistachios, chocolate chips, and chopped chocolate, and fold just until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
  5. Chill the dough: Cover the bowl and place the dough into the fridge to chill for 1 hour (though the longer you chill the dough, the deeper the flavor develops!).
  6. Make the pistachio butter: In a heat-safe bowl, melt the vegan white chocolate in increments of 20 seconds in the microwave. Be careful, as vegan white chocolate burns more easily than chocolate in the microwave, so stir frequently and air on the side of caution. Once melted, add in the pistachio butter, and whisk to incorporate. Place the bowl into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
  7. Scoop the pistachio cream: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a tablespoon scoop to scoop the pistachio cream into tbsp-sized dollops. Place onto the baking sheet and into the refrigerate to chill until ready to shape the dough. 
  8. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
  9. Scoop the dough: Use a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tbsp) to scoop the dough into your palm. Press your thumb into the dough ball to create a cavity for the pistachio cream. Place one pistachio cream ball into the center. Then scoop another cookie dough ball, indent the ball again to create another cavity and place it on top of the pistachio cream. Seal the edges of the cookie dough ball together to form one large cookie, and place onto the cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. You should yield 10-11 large cookies. 
  10. Bake: Place the cookie sheets into the oven to bake for 15 minutes (I baked mine for exactly 15 minutes- yours might need more or less- look for the edges turning slightly golden brown. For smaller cookies, they’ll need 10-12 minutes in the oven).
  11. Serve and enjoy! Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Then serve and enjoy!


Notes

Gluten free: I love using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour here. Make sure your mix contains Xanthan gum in the ingredients section if not using KA.

Pistachio butter: Often times, there will be milk added to pistachio “butter” to mimic the pistachio cream (crema al pistacchio) found in Italy. I used Blue Mountain Organics Pistachio butter, which is single ingredient pistachio butter, but you can also make homemade pistachio butter following my cashew butter recipe, only swapping in pistachios.