These Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies have a little secret! A little box of pistachio instant pudding mix is the trick behind their soft and chewy texture. There's another shortcut in the recipe (hello, pre-roasted, shelled pistachios), so you can spend less time in the kitchen!
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If you've been scrolling and seeing that Dubai chocolate and pistachio flavor combo everywhere, well, I couldn't help myself, either. These Chocolate Chip and Pistachio Cookies are my spinoff and they're a whole lot easier on the pocketbook than a fancy chocolate bar.
They're a soft-baked cookie with a hint of pale green (from the pudding mix) and chocolate chips and crunchy roasted pistachios in every bite. Their green color makes them perfect to serve for Christmas and St. Patricks Day.
I've tested this dough enough to know the pudding mix trick actually works and y'all are going to love it. Soft and chewy is the whole goal here. I've had my Double Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies on the blog for about 8 years, and they're tried and true, made with chocolate instant pudding. My Coffee and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies are another favorite. I call them chocolate chip cookies for grownups!
Pistachio pudding cookies will be one of the first trays empty at a church potluck or Christmas cookie swap.
Shortcuts
- Buy the pistachios already roasted and shelled. You'll find them in the produce area of larger grocery stores, but they're sometimes in the snacking nuts or baking nuts section. Even the Dollar Tree carries small packages.
- Skip the chopped pistachios if you don't have them or don't want to spend the money, just leave them out. There are still tiny bits of finely chopped pistachio in the pudding mix, so you'll still get that flavor.
- Use a small cookie scoop. A trigger-release scoop or tiny ice cream scoop gives you evenly sized cookies and they all bake at the same rate.
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies
Scroll down to printable recipe for exact ingredient quantities.
- All-purpose flour - Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off, rather than scooping straight from the bag. Scooping packs in extra flour and can make cookies dry.
- Baking soda - This helps the cookies brown just enough and gives them a little lift.
- Salted butter - Salted butter is enough salt for this recipe. If you're using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Your butter should give a little when you press it but not be too soft.
- Brown sugar - This adds moisture and a hint of caramel flavor, which is part of what keeps these chewy.
- Granulated sugar - It gives the edges a little bit of crispness.
- Large eggs - Room temperature eggs blend into the butter more smoothly.
- Vanilla extract - A little vanilla rounds out the pistachio flavor.
- Pistachio instant pudding mix - This is the secret ingredient. Make sure the box says "instant" and not "cook and serve." Walmart has a pistachio pudding mix in their store brand, too.
- Chocolate chips - Choose your favorite flavor: milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate.
- Roasted pistachios - Roasted and shelled is the way to go. A rough chop gives you nice crunchy bites.
- Green food coloring - For a more obviously green cookie, add one drop of liquid food coloring. I like just the hint of green that the pudding and pistachios give on their own.
Substitutions & Variations
- Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies - While milk chocolate, semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips all work well, white chocolate chips in these cookies are a fantastic substitution and look so pretty!
- More green: Add 1 drop of liquid green food coloring if you want the cookies to be sure-fire green.
- Holiday cookies: The green makes them perfect for St. Patrick's Day or Christmas. For Christmas, stir in ½ cup dried cranberries for some red.
- Vanilla pudding: Use vanilla instant pudding and add a drop or two of green food coloring, or leave the coloring out altogether.
- No pistachios: Leave out the chopped nuts and you'll still get a little pistachio flavor from the pudding mix.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease the pans.
- Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium low speed after each addition. Add the vanilla, beating until combined.
- Add the pistachio pudding mix and beat just until everything is blended together.
- Add the flour and baking soda mixture and beat just until everything is blended together.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pistachios.
- Spoon cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. I actually like to use a trigger release cookie scoop or tiny ice cream scoop so each cookie comes out the same size.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the center is almost set. They will continue to firm up as they cool. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the pans before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely.
Food styling tip: I like to hold back a few of the chips and nuts to place on top of the cookie dough mounds to ensure you’ll see some after they bake.
Pro Tips
- Chill for taller cookies. For taller, fluffier cookies, chill the dough for 15 minutes before scooping and baking. Or scoop the dough onto the prepared pans and chill the pans, if you have several.
- Don't overbake. Take the cookies out when the centers are almost set, even if they look a little underdone. They keep cooking on the hot pan, and overbaking is the fastest way to lose that soft, chewy texture.
- Use a scoop. A small cookie scoop makes every cookie the same size, so they bake evenly and no batch ends up half burnt and half raw. It also makes the whole process quicker.
What to Serve with Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
A tall, cold glass of milk is the classic pairing, but these pistachio chocolate chip cookies are also lovely with a hot cup of coffee or tea! For a special dessert, sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies. I've done that with my pudding cookies before and it never fails.
They also look great on a cookie tray next to my Sugardoodles, Apple Cider Cookies, and Cranberry Orange Cookies. If you're feeding a crowd, put them on the dessert table with a big pan of Sticky Fig Pudding Cake, and you'll have pudding covered two ways.
Storage
- Store: Keep cooled chocolate chip pistachio cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Add a slice of sandwich bread to the container to help them stay soft.
- Freeze the dough: Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
- Freeze baked cookies: Cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before packing in a freezer container. Thaw at room temperature.
- Make ahead: Cover and refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days. Let it sit out for a few minutes before scooping.
- Reheat: Warm a cookie in the microwave for 8 to 10 seconds to bring back that fresh-baked softness.
Kathleen Answers Your Questions
No, you can scoop and bake right away. Chilling for 15 minutes is optional, but it gives you thicker cookies.
Either works, but roasted and lightly salted or unsalted are best since the recipe already has salted butter. Heavily salted pistachios can make the cookies taste a bit too salty.
Pistachio gives the best flavor and a natural hint of green, but vanilla instant pudding works too. Add a drop or two of green food coloring if you want the color.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios
SAVE THIS RECIPE
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup salted butter softened (1 ½ sticks)
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3.4-ounce box pistachio-flavored instant pudding mix
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips dark chocolate, milk or white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped roasted pistachios unsalted or lightly salted (3 ounces)
- Green food coloring (optional) 1 drop
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease the pans.
- Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium low speed after each addition. Add the vanilla, beating until combined.
- Add the pistachio pudding mix and beat just until everything is blended together.
- TIP: (Don’t be tempted to just stir in the pudding with the flour. I’ve tested this cookie method over and over and that little bit of time the pudding mix spends with the wet ingredients helps it hydrate long enough to give it that soft and chewy magic.)
- Add the flour and baking soda mixture and beat just until everything is blended together.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pistachios.Pro Tip: I like to hold back a few of the chips and nuts to place on top of the cookie dough mounds to ensure you’ll see some after they bake.
- Spoon cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. I actually like to use a trigger release cookie scoop or tiny ice cream scoop so each cookie comes out the same size.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the center is almost set. They will continue to firm up as they cool. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the pans before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely.
- Yield: 3 dozen
Notes
- Pudding mix: Use instant pudding, not "cook and serve." Add it to the wet ingredients, not the flour, so it has time to hydrate and make the cookies soft and chewy.
- Pistachios: Use roasted, shelled pistachios, lightly salted or unsalted. You can leave them out to save money, since the pudding mix still adds pistachio flavor.
- Chocolate: Milk, semi-sweet, dark, or white chocolate chips all work. Chopped chocolate bars work too.
- Chilling: Chilling is optional. Chill the dough 15 minutes for taller, thicker cookies.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze scooped dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
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