Pistachio Butter Blossom Cookies

A classic cookie gets a pistachio twist, made with a triple dose of nutty pistachio flavor. The dark chocolate kisses pressed into the centers are melty and molten right out of the oven (my favorite way to enjoy them), but firm up again after an hour or so, making these cookies perfect for shipping or sharing.

These wickedly green cookies are buttery and tender, with a kiss of luxurious dark chocolate in the middle that would please even the grinch. I’ve packed as much pistachio flavor as I possibly can into these two-bite cookies, with pistachios in three forms: pistachio butter, pistachio flour, and pistachio extract.

The classic peanut butter blossom, now with 100% more pistachio (green is the new beige, after all).

These cookies are a result of having a glut of homemade pistachio butter leftover from my recipe testing experimentation last year. It felt too indulgent to use for something as menial as an afternoon snack (although apple slices + pistachio butter is sublime), so I was saving it for a special occasion (and by special occasion I mean a recipe as fabulous as this one).

Mission: accomplished! I just know you’ll love these cookies as much as I do.

Pistachio is such a nuanced flavor, much less in your face than peanut butter or even hazelnut, and even using pistachios in three forms (butter, flour, and extract) these cookies are still not in-your-face pistachio like, say, pistachio gelato; rather, they are more like a soft and buttery sugar cookie with an undertone of earthy, nutty pistachio and a hint of fragrant almond. (more…)