Salty pistachios with sweet white chocolate chips and a touch of orange zest are a divine flavour combination.

These soft and chewy cookies are easy to make and perfect for any Christmas cookie box!

I love to make a variety of cookies during the holiday season including these Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Icing! But, these Orange White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies are packed with holiday flavours you’ll love too.

They’re the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or hot cocoa on a Wintery afternoon. Or, make a batch as a light dessert for a holiday gathering.  If you’re a fan of white chocolate, these are the cookies for you!

Why you’ll love these orange pistachio white chocolate chip cookies

• Easy: You don’t need an electric mixer / stand mixer to make these – just a couple of mixing bowls to make these soft cookies!
• Flavourful: You get white chocolate, pistachios and a hint of orange in every bite.
• Ingredients: All of the main cookie ingredients are easy to find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

Ingredients

Flour: all purpose flour is a must along with baking soda and baking powder

Orange: orange zest brings a nice touch of citrus flavour to these pistachio cookies

Pistachios: roasted, salted pistachios add the best pistachio flavour

White chocolate: I like to use white chocolate chips in this holiday cookie recipe but you can swap for chopped white chocolate or white baking chips

Sugar: you will need a combination of white sugar and brown sugar to make these cookies 

Butter: use unsalted butter for the base of this cookie recipe

Egg: one egg is needed to bring the cookie batter together

How to make these holiday cookies

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) & set aside.
3. In another bowl, add orange zest, sugar and brown sugar and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugars until moist and fragrant. Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture and mix until well combined. 
4. Next, add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
5. Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios until just incorporated.
6. Scoop 2 tablespoonfuls of cookie batter per cookie into balls, placing them about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet (make sure to leave space between cookies as they will spread). 
7. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges, the center of the cookie will still be slightly soft. Remove from the oven & let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to the cooling rack.

Tips & tricks

• While I like to use white chocolate chips for ease in this recipe, you could chop up a white chocolate bar into white chocolate chunks instead. I like to use Ghirardelli or Lindt white chocolate bars.
• Salted pistachios give these cookies a lot of flavour compared to unsalted pistachios.
• Get perfectly round cookies by using this baking tip: Place a large round cookie cutter around each freshly baked cookie while still on the baking sheet. Gently swirl the cookie cutter around the edge of the cookie to get a perfectly round shape.

Common questions

How to store these pistachio cookies

Once cooled, you can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies in a ziptop bag or in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Make sure to separate the cookies between parchment paper to ensure easier removal once frozen. Defrost cookies at room temperature for 3-4 hours before enjoying.

More holiday dessert recipes to make from the blog

• Chewy Chocolate Pretzel Bars
• Easy Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars (for the holidays)
• Lemon Squares

Print

Orange White Chocolate Pistachio Holiday Cookies

These Orange White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies are made for the holidays! White chocolate, pistachios and a hint of orange in every bite.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cookie, pistachio

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 16 -18 cookies

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh orange zest
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (135g) white baking chips or white chocolate chips
• ¾ cup roasted salted pistachio nuts, roughly chopped (112g – measured full then chopped)

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) & set aside.
• In another bowl, add orange zest, sugar and brown sugar and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugars until moist and fragrant. Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture and mix until well combined.
• Next, add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
• Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped pistachios until just incorporated.
• Scoop 2 tablespoonfuls of cookie batter per cookie into balls, placing them about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet (make sure to leave space between cookies as they will spread).
• Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges, the center of the cookie will still be slightly soft. Remove from the oven & let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to the cooling rack.

Notes

• While I like to use white chocolate chips for ease in this recipe, you could chop up a white chocolate bar into white chocolate chunks instead. I like to use Ghirardelli or Lindt white chocolate bars.
• If white chocolate isn’t your favourite, feel free to swap for dark chocolate chips (or a chopped dark chocolate bar instead).
• Once cooled, you can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies in a ziptop bag or in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Make sure to separate the cookies between parchment paper to ensure easier removal once frozen. Defrost cookies at room temperature for 3-4 hours before enjoying.

Photography by: Kaeleigh Pugliese

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