These pistachio cookies are baked with brown butter and dark chocolate! They’re soft on the inside with a crisp edge. The pistachios, pockets of melty dark chocolate, and flakey sea salt make these buttery cookies irresistible!
I love dark chocolate and pistachio together and they taste even better in cookie form. They’re soft, nutty, sweet, salty, and toffee-y thanks to the brown butter. They’re basically the best cookie ever.
Using brown butter really enhances the nutty flavour from the roasted pistachios and brings them to a gourmet next level.
Once baked, a dash of flakey sea salt is sprinkled to help balance the overall sweetness and enhance the rich dark chocolate and nutty pistachios.
These cookies come together in one bowl and require no chill time or electric mixer.
For more cookie recipes, try Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies, Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies, and White Chocolate Toffee Cookies.
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Why this recipe works
Sweet & salty: These cookies are everyone’s sweet and salty dream.
Easy to make: These cookies require no chill time or electric mixer and come together in one bowl!
Buttery cookies: Irresistible crisp edges with soft delicious centers! The brown butter enhances the flavour so much.
Pistachios & dark chocolate: The best combination.
Ingredients Notes
Baking soda – Helps create those crisp edges with soft centers.
Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar.
Butter – Use unsalted butter. This will be melted.
Eggs – Pull these out 2 hours before baking.
Pistachios – I used roasted, salted pistachios. Unshelled helps speed up the baking process, but if you’re using shelled just remember to give yourself a little more prep time 🙂
Salt – These cookies are balanced with extra sea salt sprinkled on top after baking for both looks and flavour. If you’re using salted butter, be careful as you may need to half the amount used.
Step by step instructions
Here is how to make and bake these salted pistachio dark chocolate chunk cookies. You will need two trays lined with parchment paper, a large mixing bowl, a spatula, a whisk, and a standard ice cream scoop.
Step 1: Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Once it melts, it will crackle, then become foamy – continue mixing the butter while this happens to prevent burning. Once golden, remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Let the butter cool for 30 minutes while you prep on the rest of the recipe.
Step 2: Whisk in sugars, egg, and vanilla. The mixture should turn light in color and very smooth in consistency.
Step 3: Add in dry ingredients. Fold in the flour and baking soda until just combined.
Step 4: Toss add-ins. Mix in chopped up pistachios and dark chocolate.
Step 5: Scoop and bake. Use a 2oz cookie scoop and scoop 5-6 cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will have crisp edges and look slightly underdone in the middle.
When they’re fresh from the oven, sprinkle a dash of flakey sea salt on each cookie. You may also add more chopped pistachios and chocolate if desired!
Expert Baking Tips
Here are a few baking tips from my kitchen to yours
Use a gram scale for the most accurate measurements. To convert this recipe, click the ‘metric’ button next to the ingredients title on the recipe card.
Make sure the brown butter does not solidify. Cool it for 30 minutes max. I like to do this step first and prep the rest of my ingredients later.
Using salted pistachios will help balance the sweetness, but don’t add any extra salt into the dough (only flakey sea salt on top)
If the dough is to soft to form cookie dough balls with, chill for 1-2 hours.
Storing & Freezing
Scoop the cookie dough balls and place into a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Once ready to bake, place the frozen cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 14-16 minutes and enjoy!
Store salted dark chocolate pistachio cookies in an air tight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy the cookies warm by reheating them in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
FAQ
What are the best pistachios to use in these cookies?
Roasted and salted pistachios are best for these cookies. Roasted pistachios have much more flavour and salted helps balance the sweetness. Unsalted pistachios work as well, but you will need to add 1/2 tsp salt to the cookie dough.
What is the best dark chocolate to use?
The type of chocolate you use directly affects how you cookies will turn out, spread, bake, etc. This is why it’s important to use high quality chocolate. Go for a dark chocolate bar that is at least 75% cacao or more.
Watch how to make these cookies
Check out these recipes
- White Chocolate Toffee Cookies
- White Chocolate Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
- Valentine’s Day Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
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Salted Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 2/3 cups light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt *only if using unsalted pistachios
- 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios finely chopped
- flakey sea salt
- 1 dark chocolate bar chopped (approx 3/4 cups)
Instructions
- Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Once it melts, it will crackle, then become foamy – continue mixing the butter while this happens to prevent burning. The butter will go from melted to golden brown quickly, and you’ll know it’s almost done when the aroma of browned butter arrives. The whole process should take about 5 minutes! Once golden, remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Let the butter cool for 30 minutes while you prep on the rest of the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled butter (it’s ok if it’s still slightly warm), brown sugar, and white sugar.1/2 cup butter, 2/3 cups light brown sugar, 2 tbsp white sugar
- Add in the egg and vanilla and whisk until the mixture is light in colour and smooth in consistency.1 egg, 1 tbsp vanilla
- Toss in the flour, baking soda, and salt (if using) and gently fold in until almost combined. Add in the chopped dark chocolate and pistachios and continue to fold until there are no flour streaks showing.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios, 1 dark chocolate bar
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet, and bake 5-6 cookies at a time.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the edges are golden brown but the center looks puffy and slightly underdone.
- When the cookies are fresh from the oven, sprinkle with a dash of flakey sea salt and add extra chopped pistachios and chocolate if desired.flakey sea salt
- Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack, and enjoy!
Made these and they were so good! The brown butter really made them next level. And I enjoyed how you mentioned not to add in the salt if I used salted butter or butter. The details are much appreciated. Thanks!!!
Thanks so much for the kind comment, Sutton! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the cookies! :))