Pistachio Cutout Sugar Cookies

Holiday baking season is upon us, and these pistachio-flavored cutout cookies are the perfect canvas for holiday decoration.

These incredibly soft, subtly green sugar cookies are flecked with bits of chopped pistachios and decorated with a drizzle of candy coating and a flurry of sprinkle snow.

This recipe was created in partnership with Wilton, bringing the love of baking and decorating to everyone, everywhere, every day. This post contains tracking and affiliate links.

It’s official, 2019 is the year of the pistachio.

I’m seriously obsessed (as you can very well tell), and have no intentions of letting up anytime soon.

Sweet or savory, from cookies to ice cream to snacks, pistachios are a particularly versatile nut.

Here we bring out their sweet side in a pistachio variation of a classic soft sugar cookie recipe. It might just be a new holiday favorite!

The recipe itself is very similar to my vanilla almond sugar cookies, with the addition of finely chopped pistachios for crunch, pistachio extract for flavor, and a hint of green food coloring to give the cookies a gorgeous pistachio hue.

That hint of green makes this dough particularly suitable for Christmas cookies, a perfect blank green canvas for whatever festive decoration your heart desires!

I cut out both tree and wreath shaped cookies (using the cutters from this Wilton holiday cookie cutter set, which are a perfect size for sharing and shipping), but ultimately liked the way the trees looked the best.

In terms of decoration, I wanted something simple yet impactful, and not overly complicated or tedious like royal icing, ultimately deciding on a drizzle of vibrant green Candy Melts, a flurry of nonpareil sprinkle snow, and a few strategically placed green ‘ornaments’ for a little extra festive cheer.

The green balls were picked out from two different Wilton holiday sprinkle mixes, one had slightly larger green balls than the other. I like the mix of multiple sizes here, it makes the decoration feel more playful and less symmetrical.

I used all the small green balls from this holiday sprinkle mix, and about half the balls from this sprinkle mix for one batch of about 40 cookies (so if you double or triple the recipe, plan accordingly).

What’s left of the sprinkle mixes are still plenty fun and festive, and can certainly be put to good use (might I suggest a batch of these gingerbread rice crispy treats? They’re one of my all time favorites!)

The dough itself comes together in a flash, lightly tinted with Wilton Kelly Green gel food coloring and flecked with finely chopped pistachios.

Baking Tip: Dip the tip of a pairing knife in the pot of gel food coloring, then smear the dough with the knife to transfer the color. Mix until evenly incorporated, then add more coloring as needed.

Assuming your kitchen is on the cool side, you don’t even have to chill the dough before rolling it out (that said, if you find the dough particularly soft or sticky, pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it’s workable).

The secret to extra soft sugar cookies is rolling them out thick, a full 1/4 inch. Thinner cookies will bake up more crisply.

I like rolling the dough out between two sheets of lightly floured waxed paper, which helps keep the dough from sticking and makes it easy to flip and move around as needed.

Any scraps can be rerolled and cut again.

When working with Candy Melts, you do want to be sure you don’t overheat them or they will thicken and seize. Although I still find Candy Melts much more forgiving than pure chocolate.

I personally love my Wilton Candy Melting Pot, which I use regularly for melting both chocolate and Candy Melts. And especially helpful for this recipe is the warm setting, which will keep the Candy Melts warm so you don’t have to keep reheating them in the microwave as you work.

I did thin out the Candy Melts with a few teaspoons of vegetable shortening, just to give them a more drizzle-able consistency.

Cookie Storage tips:

Keep baked and decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days (layer with parchment or waxed paper to keep the decorations in tact).

Baked and un-decorated cookies can be frozen in an airtight bag for up to 1 month. Let thaw and fully come to room temperature before decorating.

The dough does not require refrigeration, however if you want you can make it up to 2 days ahead of time. Wrap tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and keep chilled. Before rolling, bring the dough fully to room temperature (let it sit out 1 to 2 hours), otherwise it will crack as you try to roll it.

Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with Wilton®. As always, all opinions written are purely our own. We’re incredibly grateful for opportunities like these that allow us to continue sharing delicious recipes with you, so thank you for supporting us and the brands we love.