White Chocolate Raspberry Pistachio Cookies

Wait until you try these Raspberry Pistachio Cookies that are just bursting with flavor from plenty of ground roasted salted pistachios and fresh raspberries baked right in! They are soft and chewy with rich earthy (almost savory) flavor from the pistachios, bright tartness from the berries and sweet creaminess from white chocolate chunks. If you want to impress your friends, bring these cookies to your next party! Like my popular Salted Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Cookies, this recipe shares the same technique of grinding pistachios with a bit of olive oil to really get the most flavor out of them and it is superb! If you love making chocolate chip cookies, then be sure to try my Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies as well!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Chewy pistachio cookies - if you like chewy cookies, these are certainly for you!
• Rich pistachio flavor - these cookies are packed with pistachio flavor in each bite and have a deep rich buttery brown sugar taste that is not overly sweet with underlying notes of natural vanilla. The green color is naturally enhanced by a bit of matcha powder. For the most flavor, I recommend roasting the pistachios. These salted roasted pistachios are very convenient.
• White chocolate bark - white chocolate is sweet and creamy so it pairs beautifully with earthy pistachios and tart raspberries. I melt down my favorite pure white chocolate chips and spread it out to make this bark first, then I break it up into thin pieces that melt beautifully into the cookie dough.
• Fresh raspberry cookies - you just need a handful of fresh raspberries to make these and you will freeze them briefly before folding them into the dough.

INGREDIENTS FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY PISTACHIO COOKIES

Here are some on the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Butter - this recipe uses unsalted butter as the base for the cookie dough. You can use unsalted or salted butter, and salted butter would further enhance the pistachio flavor. If you use salted butter, then reduce the added salt by half.
• Oil - you need a bit of oil to make a pistachio paste that you mix into the cookie dough. I like to use olive oil since it adds to the earthy flavors, but any vegetable oil will work.
• Roasted salted pistachios (no shell) - the lovely green color of these cookies is naturally coming from the pistachios and a bit of matcha powder. For the most flavor, you should roast the pistachios before grinding them or use these roasted salted pistachios.
• Granulated sugar - this recipe uses a combination of simple white granulated sugar and brown sugar. White sugar helps create the crunchy caramelized edges. I wouldn't recommend reducing the sugar because it will compromise the chewy texture.
• Brown sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe. I prefer light brown sugar so that the molasses doesn't overpower the taste of the pistachios.

• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is important to enhance the flavor of most cookies. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Almond extract - this is optional, but it adds nice sweet fruity notes that complement the pistachio flavor.
• Egg - you'll need one whole egg for this recipe. It's the perfect amount of moisture to make these cookies chewy and not cakey.
• Salt - don't leave out the salt! It really elevates the rich buttery, caramel flavors! It also enhances the pistachio taste and balances the sweetness.
• Matcha powder - this is optional, if you have it or want to try it, but it will really enhance the green color and it also adds a nice earthy taste that complements the pistachios. If you leave it out the cookies will simply have a more earthy brownish green color. I love this ceremonial grade matcha powder that has an intense emerald green color and great health benefits.
• All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour makes the best chewy cookies.
• Pure white chocolate - this is important! I highly recommend using good quality white chocolate, either in the form of these white chocolate callets with minimum 28% cocoa butter or chopped up from a high quality bar. Chocolate that is made into bars, also known as "tablets" usually has a higher cocoa butter content and typically melts smoother than chocolate chips to give you puddles of chocolate in the cookies. Chocolate chips will hold their shape and spread less. I like to melt it down into chocolate bark and then break it into pieces. This re-tempering process makes it melt more smoothly.
• Fresh raspberries - the key for this recipe is to flash freeze the berries for 20-30 minutes so they wont mash up as easily when you fold them into the dough. I try to avoid using already frozen berries since they can have freezer damage from shipping and handling at the store which means the ice crystals can cause them to leach juices into the dough.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE RASPBERRY PISTACHIO COOKIES

• STEP 1). First flash freeze the raspberries. Place the raspberries on a tray lined with waxed paper or parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes until hardened.
• STEP 2). Make the pistachio paste. Add pistachios to the bowl of a food processor and process until they form fine crumbs. Add the oil and process until it clumps together as a paste.
• STEP 3). Mix together butter and sugar. You can use an electric stand mixer, a hand mixer or do this by hand with a spatula. You want to cream it together until slightly pale and a bit fluffy, but not overly creamed. It will still look like a thick paste or damp sand and this will leave us with chewy cookies. Over-mixing at this point would make more crisp cookies.
• STEP 4). Mix in egg. Add the egg and extracts and beat until well incorporated and smooth.
• STEP 5). Mix in pistachio paste. Add the pistachio paste and mix it through.
• STEP 6). Combine dry ingredients. Blend flour, matcha powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and whisk it to blend evenly. Then, add it to the butter mixture and mix it in until evenly combined.
• STEP 7). Fold in chocolate chunks and raspberries. Add the white chocolate chips and frozen raspberries and fold them in gently.
• STEP 8). Bake. Scoop up mounds of cookie dough and release them onto prepared baking sheets spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Sprinkle with extra pistachios and bake until golden on the edges and just slightly soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack and let cookies rest on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Roast your nuts. This is non-negotiable for this recipe. If you do not roast the nuts (or use pre-roasted pistachios), they will be bland and their flavor will be so mild that the caramelization of the cookie dough will over-power the taste.
• Make a pistachio paste. This is the key to getting a rich pistachio flavor right through the cookie dough. The oil will help to carry the flavors so they permeate throughout.
• Don't skip the salt. The right amount of salt is so important to enhance the pistachio taste.
• Use regular large size eggs. Large eggs weigh 57g. Using an extra large egg will add up to 2 teaspoons more liquid to the cookie dough which can throw off the moisture balance and make the cookies spread too much or slow their browning so they are over-cooked by the time they become golden.
• Use high quality white chocolate with high cocoa butter content for smooth melting in the cookie dough.
• Make chocolate bark. You'll notice that for this recipe I melt down the white chocolate and then let it set (like making chocolate bark) before folding it into the cookie dough. This is an extra step and not at all necessary, but let me tell you the benefits of it. Firstly, white chocolate has a high sugar content which means it doesn't melt and spread in cookie dough as nicely as dark chocolate. By melting it down and spreading it out thinly, it will melt more readily and easily during baking. This also means I am able to break it up into thin shards with a larger surface so that they will melt into layers within the cookie dough to give a more interesting laminated effect.
• Flash freeze fresh berries instead of using pre-frozen berries. Frozen berries that you purchase from the freezer aisle of the grocery store may be more fragile since they have been frozen for a long time and have a tendency to accumulate ice crystals leach juices into the cookie dough as they warm up. This can make the cookie dough wet and the cookies will spread too much and be soft.
• Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to evenly portion dough for uniform baking.
• Use a kitchen scale. For best results, weigh your ingredients according to the measurements in the recipe card below using a kitchen scale.

RECIPE FAQ

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Video

White Chocolate Raspberry Pistachio Cookies

Christina Marsigliese, Food Scientist MSc.

Raspberry Pistachio Cookies are just bursting with flavor from plenty of ground roasted salted pistachios and fresh raspberries baked right in! They are soft and chewy with rich earthy (almost savory) flavor from the pistachios, bright tartness from the berries and sweet creaminess from white chocolate bark.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Setting Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 14 cookies

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup (5oz/142g) pure white chocolate callets (minimum 28% cocoa butter) (or a high quality white chocolate bar)
• ½ cup (60g) fresh raspberries
• ½ cup (60g) roasted salted pistachios (no shell)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
• 7 tablespoon (100g) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 ⅓ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon matcha powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon ground pistachios, for topping

NOTE: for best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• First prepare the white chocolate bark. Note, you can also fold white chocolate chips directly into the cookie dough, but I love how the shards of tempered white chocolate bark melt into the dough. Place white chocolate callets into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water and stir frequently until completely melted and smooth. Immediately spread it out over a parchment-lined baking sheet so it is between ⅛-inch and ¼-inch thick. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes until completely set and then roughly chop it up into chunks.
• Flash freeze the raspberries. Place the raspberries on a tray lined with waxed paper or parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes until hardened.
• Prepare the pistachio paste. Place pistachios in a small food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Add oil and grind until the mixture forms a thick paste. It won't be smooth like peanut butter, but it will be thick and coarse.
• Prepare the cookie dough. Cream together butter with both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using an electric hand mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in pistachio paste and extracts. Mix in egg until evenly incorporated and smooth. Mix in pistachio paste.
• Combine flour with matcha powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add it to the butter mixture and fold it in. Add frozen raspberries and white chocolate chunks and fold them in very gently until evenly distributed. The dough will be soft and a bit tacky.
• Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and release it onto prepared baking sheets spacing them about 3 inches apart since these cookies spread a lot. Sprinkle the tops with extra ground pistachios. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cookies cool for a minute before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired!