Description
These melt-in-your-mouth pistachio cookies are soft, buttery, and dusted in powdered sugar — perfect for holidays, showers, or cookie swaps.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.4 oz) package instant pistachio pudding mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make the butter base. In a roomy mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until it’s smooth and creamy. Add ½ cup of the powdered sugar and continue beating until the mixture looks lighter and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Mix the dry components. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pistachio pudding powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Bring the dough together. Gradually add the dry mix to the butter mixture, stirring just until the dough holds together and no streaks of flour remain.
- Chill the dough. Portion the dough into two halves, shape into logs or a rough ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour so it firms up.
- Shape and bake. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop teaspoon-sized portions of dough and roll them into balls, arranging them about 1 inch apart on the prepared trays. Gently press each ball to flatten slightly. Bake 9–10 minutes — pull them when the bottoms are set but the tops remain pale.
- Coat in sugar. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. While still warm, roll each cookie in the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar until evenly coated. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely; if desired, roll once more in sugar after they’ve cooled for the classic snowy finish.
Notes
- Chill time matters. Cooling the dough helps the cookies keep their shape and gives a tender crumb.
- Watch the oven. These should stay light-colored — overbaking makes them dry.
- Dough balls freeze well; bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.