Soft, chewy and festive pistachio cookies are easy to make with instant pistachio pudding mix. A little green food coloring gives them the prettiest color making them perfect for Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day!
Homemade cookie recipes are simply the best! Other melt-in-your mouth favorites include these pistachio cookies, Mexican wedding cookies and grinch cookie recipe!
Table of Contents
Pistachio Pudding Cookies
Easy pistachio cookies made with pistachio pudding mix are one of my new favorite holiday dessert recipes. Just like my recipe for pistachio bread they are festive with their Christmas green color and the pudding adds flavor and makes the meltaway cookies soft and tender!
These paired with molasses cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies and chocolate chip pudding cookies would make the perfect addition to your Christmas dessert board.
Why This Recipe Works
- Perfect for the holidays: With a vibrant green color thanks to food coloring, they are perfect for both Christmas or serve at St. Patrick’s Day along with my pistachio dessert!
- Pudding mix in cookies: Adding pistachio pudding mix makes these cookies have the best pistachio flavor as well as the cornstarch in the pudding mix tenderizes the cookies.
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Butter: Softened butter is best, not melted.
- Powdered sugar: Gives these that melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Instant pistachio pudding mix: Adds pistachio flavor and gives them a fluffy texture.
- All-purpose flour: For structure.
- Almond extract: Compliments the nutty flavor of the pudding and is clear in color. You could use clear vanilla extract.
- Maraschino cherries: Chopped finely and patted dry. Omit for plain cookies.
- Green food coloring (optional): For darker green pistachio cookies.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chocolate chips: Add white chocolate chips to the pistachio cookie dough instead of maraschino cherries. You could use dark chocolate chunks or semi-sweet chocolate chips!
- Dipped: Drizzle or dip half of the cookie in white chocolate once cooled like I do these cherry almond cookies.
- Festive. Mix in red sprinkles instead of cherries or add dried cranberries!
- Nuttier: Remove the cherries add an extra 1/2 cup chopped pistachios.
How to Make Pistachio Cookies
These pistachio pudding cookies are easy to make and loved by everyone who tries them.
- Mix ingredients: Cream butter until light and fluffy then add powdered sugar, almond extract, green food coloring, and pistachio pudding mix and continue to mix. Next, add in your flour and mix until just combined.
- Chill dough: Gently fold in chopped cherries then wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 15 minutes or until slightly firm.
- Roll into cookie dough balls: Use a medium cookie scoop to place dough on parchment lined baking sheets. Gently flatten balls with your palm or the bottom of a cup.
- Bake: Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes or just until the bottoms are light browned. Cool on pan for 3-5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Once cooled completely, dust with powdered sugar.
5 star review
“Wow! Just finished dusting these beautiful cookies. Ate just one as I am hoping these will not disappear before Christmas day. They are as yummy as they look. Kind of unique actually. Yay for this recipe!“
– Dan
Baking Tips
- Soften butter. A quick way to soften the butter is by microwaving the butter in a bowl for 15-20 seconds at 50% power.
- Do not over mix the dough. Once it’s combined, stop mixing to prevent a dry, dense pistachio cookie recipe.
- Maraschino cherries. Chop your cherries finely so they are not chunky. Pat the cherries dry with a paper towel before and after you have chopped them. If you don’t remove the juice it could die the green dough.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. Freeze the dough for at least 10 minutes so it isn’t as sticky to work with. Alternately, place in the fridge for an hour or overnight. It will also help the cookies to stay nice and fluffy while baking.
- Do not over bake. You want these pistachio cookies to be soft in the middle so they’ll melt in your mouth. Remove from the oven when the bottoms are just lightly browned.
FAQs
Either works, but if you use unsalted butter you will need to some salt to the dough.
While I love the flavor of maraschino cherries and think flavor goes so well with pistachio, you can definitely make these without them. White chocolate chips and chopped pistachios are popular additions.
Thickness of your pistachio cookies will depend on the temperature of your butter as well as chilled dough. Your butter should be room temperature and give slightly when pressed with your finger (leave a small indent). Chill your dough for at least 15 minutes. This solidifies the butter so your cookies spread less while baking.
Store pistachio cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 – 5 days. You can also freeze baked cookies in a freezer safe bag up to 3 months.
Yes! Shape the dough into cookie balls then flash freeze. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight bag and store frozen for 2 months. Bake from frozen adding a few minutes time or thaw then bake.
Other cookie recipes we love include this almond cookies recipe, Almond Joy cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cake mix cookies!
More Cookie Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Pistachio Cookie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter ,softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar , more for sprinkling on top
- 3.4 ounce package instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
- ½ cup maraschino cherries , chopped finely (see note)
Optional: green food coloring
Instructions
- Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer, until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, almond extract and pudding mix and beat until combined. Add food coloring now if you prefer a darker green. Next add in the flour and mix until combined.
- Gently mix in the chopped cherries into the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until slightly firm. Alternatively you could refrigerate the dough for an hour, or overnight
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take a medium scoop or about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Gently flatten dough balls with your palm or the bottom of a cup. Place cookie on the cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes. Once completely cooled sprinkle cookies with dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
This recipe was originally a guest post by The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Categorized as: American, Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Holiday Cookies, Kid-Friendly
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I’ve made these several times for different family members and my grandchildren and they love them I also add banana pudding instead of pistachio and banana extract and added pineapple and cherries with a little yellow food coloring and they turned out amazing!! Wish I could post pictures of how good they turned out this recipe is a must for cookie baker’s
That banana versions sounds so delicious! Thanks for your comment and review, Donna :)
Just made these and they are amazing! We added in white chocolate chips, per your request and I won’t make them again without them! I didn’t add any extra dye and they had a soft green tint.
I cooked each batch for 11 minutes and judged their “doneness” on a slight browning on the bottom of the cookies. I also used salted butter, since that is what I had on hand, and I don’t think it made a difference. Just in case that is all you have.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Huge hit in our household!
Thanks so much for sharing all your tips, Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed them :)
There are no eggs or anything in this recipe ? Trying to make them and nothing is really binding them together ..
Nope, no eggs! The dough will be a bit sticky, but it helps to stick it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before shaping (or until it’s slightly firm).
What kind of butter do you use? Brand? Is it salted or unsalted ?
I usually use unsalted butter :)
Do you have to use cherrys
Nope! You can leave them out or add in white chocolate chips or chopped pistachios instead.
Wow….I am not a cookie person at all……but was bored and tried them……to say good is an understatement…..AMAZING…..I have eaten 4 already…..more cookies than I eat a year lol……and so easy…..will definitely make again….Thank you
This makes me so happy to hear!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them :) Thanks for your nice comment and review, Marina!
The first cookie gone off my cookie plate this year. Delicious and easy! 💗 Already have two more boxes of pudding in the cupboard for the next batches!
Love to hear that! They make a wonderful addition to holiday cookie plates!
Could you swap all purpose for almond flour to make it gluten free?
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried! Let me know how it goes if you give it a shot.
Can the Dough be frozen and defrosted to bake another day. I was planning on doing my doughs a head of time and baking all I one day next week.
Yes it could be frozen and baked on a later date :)
I first made this recipe 2 years ago. Just made it again in double batch form w/ these variations: used green cherries, not red ones, to keep the discoloration away; used a cup of ground roasted salt-free pistachios in the mix; topped each cookie with 1/2 of a maraschino cherry for the added color feature. My wife said the look like little wreaths.
Those sound like great substitutions! I’ll have to try making the recipe with roasted pistachios next time :)
How many cookies does this recipe make
24 :)
For the past 11 years, I have been going to an annual cookie exchange. I chose this cookie to make this year and it won best tasting cookie! My first time winning in 11 years! They are really good! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us to enjoy!
Yay, this just made my day! So happy to hear they were such a hit with everyone. Congrats :)
Everyone loved the end product and it added color to our cookie plate at Christmas.Very easy too
Yay, I’m so glad they were a hit!
Hi! Would vanilla extract work instead of almond extract? My son is allergic to almonds. Thanks!
It will change the flavor but I think they would still taste delicious!
Would walnuts be good in this recipe or mess with the dough? I’m envisioning pistachio cake but in cookie form.
I think you could definitely add them in! Just fold them in after the dough is mixed :)
Are these able to be frozen after baking?
Yes! I’d recommend flash freezing the cookies on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes (or until hard), then transfer to a freezer bag or container and store for a few months.
Would it be better to use candied cherries instead of maraschino?
I’ve never tried it with candied cherries but you could definitely give it a shot!
Can these be frozen?
Yes! I’d recommend flash freezing the cookies on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes (or until hard), then transfer to a freezer bag or container and store for a few months.
Do these Freese well?
Yes! I’d recommend flash freezing the cookies on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes (or until hard), then transfer to a freezer bag or container and store for a few months.
These were a great cookies. Thanks for the recipe :)
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them!