Buttery shortbread is spiced with fragrant cardamom and crushed pistachios. These delicate cookies are dipped in melted ruby chocolate for a pretty pink finish.
Shortbread is one of my favorite cookies to make because it’s so simple and so foolproof. Who doesn’t love a buttery, melt in your mouth cookie?
Today we’re fancying up a classic shortbread by adding crushed pistachios and ground cardamom. To go with the nutty and floral flavors, we finish these off with a decoration of tangy ruby chocolate.
This is also a small batch recipe that makes only 10 cookies – perfect if you’re baking for just a few people or only yourself! If you’re baking for a crowd simply scale up the recipe.
Ingredients for perfect cardamom pistachio cookies
8 ingredients come together to make these tasty and buttery cookies
- Butter: Butter provides the base for flavor and texture. Make sure your butter is properly at room temperature so it can easily be mixed into your cookies
- Flour: All purpose flour works perfectly for these cookies
- Granulated sugar: White granulated sugar provides sweetness and gives the cookies a crisp texture
- Pistachios: Roasted, unsalted pistachios provide flavor and texture for these cookies. You can lightly pulse your pistachios in a food processor or crush them in a plastic bag using a rolling pin. Make sure not to crush them too fine, as we want a good bit of texture from the nuts.
- Vanilla extract: A half teaspoon of vanilla extract adds wonderful fragrance
- Cardamom: Ground cardamom provides a floral spice that pairs perfectly with pistachio
- Salt: Salt enhances all the flavors and balances out the sweetness of the cookie
- Ruby chocolate: Ruby chocolate has a unique fruity flavor that goes so well with the pistachio and cardamom. If you like, you can replace the ruby chocolate with white chocolate or dark chocolate.
These cookies come together so quickly and are the perfect spring treat!
Other easy cookie recipes to try:
- Ruby and white chocolate chewy matcha cookies
- Tuscan shortbread cookies (rosemary olive oil)
- Fudgy tahini brownie cookies
- Cranberry oatmeal cookies
- Super chunky chocolate chip cookies
If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.
Cardamom pistachio shortbread
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutter
- Baking tray
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (20g) unsalted pistachios
- 1/4 cup (55g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tbsp (30g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (60g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/8 tsp salt
Decoration
- 2 oz (60g) ruby chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1/8 cup (10g) unsalted pistachios
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350°F
- Place the pistachios in a ziptop bag and smash with a rolling pin until crushed into small pieces. They should be quite coarse.
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, crushed pistachios, cardamom, and salt. Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms.
- Place the dough on a floured countertop. Flour the top of the dough and roll out with the rolling pin to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut out cookies about 2 – 3 inches in diameter. Place the cookies about 1/2 inch apart on the baking tray. Combine the dough scraps and roll out and cut more cookies until all the dough has been used. You should be able to get about 10 cookies.
- Place the cookies in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes to prevent spreading in the oven.
- Place the cookies on the middle rack and bake for 8 – 10 minutes until the edges just begin to brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the tray for 5 minutes.
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare your ruby chocolate and pistachios. Crush the pistachios in a plastic bag, like in step 2. Set aside. Place pieces of chocolate in a small bowl and microwave for 20 second intervals until melted. After each 20 second interval, gently stir the chocolate.
- Once the cookies are cooled, dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, or use a fork to drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Sprinkle with crushed pistachios to finish.