Happy Holidays! Today, I’m sharing the last cookie recipe of the Christmas season this year, these chocolate-dipped orange pistachio cookies. Wow, thats a mouthful, isn’t it? Hopefully, you’ll be giving yourself a mouthful of these soon!
So, how did these cookies come about? I was brainstorming about different ways I could use pistachios in a recipe. Firstly, because they’re such an awesome nut. Secondly, their color is just so perfect for Christmas. They’re bright, green, and cheery; I just love those things. I decided to make a cookie because they’re easy and everyone loves cookies around Christmas.
Of course, I just had to add orange and chocolate, too. These are a type of icebox or shortbread cookie, which means you can make the dough in advance, pop it in the fridge, slice them up and bake. They seriously are the easiest cookie out there, and you’ll love them.
When it comes to picking out pistachios, try to find unsalted pistachios. Now, in a few of my local grocery stores, mostly what I could find was salted, shelled pistachios. The first time I tried using these, they were way too salty for the cookies. The majority of them were also over-roasted, which got rid of their bright green color. For these cookies, I found unsalted, shelled pistachios. I shelled them, then tried to get rid of as much of the peel as possible. But if you’re lucky (and your grocery store is better than mine) you can probably find them unsalted and peeled in your grocery store! (You can find them on Amazon, too.)
You can also make these cookies up to four days in advance (or freeze them, undipped, for up to a month), so they are the perfect make-ahead cookie, too!
I hope you enjoy these and that they become part of your holiday season.
Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!
Chocolate-Dipped Orange Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons orange zest (from about 2 oranges)
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from about one orange)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted, peeled, and roasted pistachios, chopped
For the chocolate dip:
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 teaspoons shortening
Instructions
For the cookie:
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In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, and zest until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and orange juice and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined. Add chopped pistachios and mix until evenly distributed.
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Divide the dough in two and form each half into logs, about 9-10" long and 1" in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap, and roll lightly to make the logs smooth and round. Place both logs in the fridge for at least two hours or up to overnight.
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Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove one cookie dough log from the fridge and cut evenly into slices, just shy of 1/2" thick. Arrange cookies evenly on the baking sheet. One log of cookies should fit onto the sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are very lightly browned. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few moments on the sheet, then remove and place on a cooling rack. Repeat process with the other cookie dough log.
For the chocolate dip:
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Add chocolate chips and shortening to a microwave safe bowl. To assist in the cookie dipping process, try to find one that is narrow and deep. A 2-cup liquid measuring cup works great for this.
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Microwave the chocolate and shortening in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth (It should take less than two minutes--be careful not to get the chocolate too hot.)
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Dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate and lay on a wax or parchment paper-lined sheet. As the amount of chocolate in the bowl decreases, you can use a spoon to cover the cookie in chocolate. Enjoy!
