By marian 11 Comments
These Lemon Pistachio roll out cookies, zesty and sweetly flavourful with a hint of nuttiness, a taste of summer happiness! Dress them up with some royal icing as a companion for your decorated cookies, or enjoy them in their original yumminess. The perfect treat for a weekend baking project!
I love classic sugar cookies, either on their own or paired with icing, but these new lemon pistachio cookies hold a VERY special place in my heart. The perfect recipe for summer with fresh pops of lemon and one of my favorite additions – pistachio!
These cookies are so simple to make but sometimes the best recipes are. All batches I made barely survived past photographing, a true testament to their deliciousness. There’s versatility in the level of lemon and pistachio as well – if you like more of a lemony zing, feel free to add more lemon juice, zest and/or lemon extract, and if you’d like more of pistachio crunch – add more!
I find contentment while baking in my kitchen, and I hope this fun recipe brings joy to your life and your taste buds.
It’s thanks to Williams Sonoma Canada that I have such a beautiful backdrop for these cookies! They’re sitting on this gorgeous Trisha Yearwood Gwendolyn Platter.
This charming dinnerware has a great story behind it – the collection is inspired by country star Trisha Yearwood’s mother, Gwendolyn. She was a teacher during Trisha’s childhood years, also moonlighting as a wedding planner and cake decorator. Gwendolyn sketched intricate icing designs for the cakes she created. After her passing, Trisha and her sister found the sketches. Those original images were used by Williams Sonoma to create the unique designs on this dinnerware collection. The platter is even stamped with a copy of Gwendolyn’s signature.
The platter is stunning in person; made in Portugal and crafted of embossed glazed stoneware with a hand-painted patina. Durable as well, it’s microwave and dishwasher safe.
If you follow me you’ll likely know I’m a huge fan of Williams Sonoma and the array of quality and aesthetically pleasing products they carry. I’m thrilled to partner with them again for this post, featuring the platter and the lovely Pressed Flower Kitchen Towels (they are sold out now, but have many other gorgeous and excellent quality kitchen towels).
If you’d like to make this recipe too, you can find it below. Please feel free to leave a comment below or onInstagram,Facebook,YouTube,PinterestorTwitterif you have any questions.
Happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups salted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp lemon extract optional
- 4 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup crushed pistachios
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, using the paddle attachment. Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you'd like a light and fluffy cookie, that's ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you'd like the cookie to hold its shape.
Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and crushed pistachios and mix to incorporate.
Add the flour to the bowl. Place a large tea towel between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won't escape. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when the dough clumps around the paddle attachment and peels away from the sides of the mixer, it is ready. You can also test the dough by pinching it between your thumb and index finger. If it’s soft but not sticky, it’s just right. If it’s too sticky when you pinch it between your fingers, add flour, ¼ cup at a time, and mix until you’re happy with the texture. There are various reasons why a dough can be too dry or too sticky, ranging from humidity in the environment, to what kind of flour you use, the fat content of the butter etc., however, there are ways to fix the issues if you run into them. Already mentioned, add flour if your dough is too sticky, and if it’s too dry, make sure you’ve mixed it as best as you can first, and if it’s still too dry, add a little water or milk until your dough comes together.
Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge or freezer for a minimum of 1 hour.
Cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat. If your dough gets too soft to work with, place in the fridge or freezer periodically to firm up again.
Once all cut out, put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.
Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate if you like! If you’re new to decorating cookies, here is a cookie decorating tutorial with everything you’ll need to know to begin!
Notes
Yield: Approximately 35 medium-sized cookies.
