If you’re looking for the perfect melt-in-your-mouth, sweet and salty, chewy chocolate chip cookie, then look no further than my Brown Butter Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies. These cookies come together with a mixture of nutty brown butter, salty pistachios, and creamy milk chocolate, for the perfect holiday cookie that covers all of your bases. Oh, and did I mention, it’s also gluten-free? It only takes a few simple ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make these delicious and festive holiday cookies!
Friends, in your opinion, what qualities make up the perfect Christmas cookie? For me, it’s a soft and chewy cookie that is crispy on the outside, buttery on the inside, and filled with loads of salty-sweet toppings. Whether I’m making my famous Life Changing Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (which are the PERFECT mix of salty-sweet, thanks to the salty tahini and sweet chocolate chips), or my brand new Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cup Cookies that combine sweet and salty peanut butter cups with a hint of sea salt, I love a salty-sweet cookie. Which means that these Brown Butter Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies? They may just be my new favorite.
In fact, when I was recipe testing them alongside my kitchen assistant, Katie, she loved them so much that she texted me the next day and asked if she could pay me $5 for another cookie. They were THAT good! Of course, I gave her plenty of cookies and didn’t make her pay – one of the many perks of working at Kalejunkie HQ is getting to enjoy all of the delicious treats.
But, back to these cookies. Whether you’re looking for the perfect cookie to serve at your next holiday gathering, or if you’re looking for the perfect cookie recipe to leave out for Santa, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. It comes together with an incredibly simple and easy dough… oh, and did I mention that it’s gluten-free? This recipe is naturally gluten-free, thanks to the gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour. Of course, you can also substitute conventional all-purpose flour, if you prefer. As always, I recommend using what you already have!
What You Need to Make These Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies
- Butter: Of course, these wouldn’t be brown butter cookies without the butter! Brown butter adds a delicious, toasted, nutty flavor that makes these cookies absolutely melt-in-your-mouth and delicious.
- Sugars: The combination of cane sugar and brown sugar adds the perfect flavor to these cookies. You can also substitute the cane sugar for monk fruit sweetener, if you desire.
- Egg: This recipe calls for one egg. If you want to substitute out the egg for a plant-based alternative, try one of these!
- Vanilla Extract: A pinch of vanilla extract adds the perfect flavor to these cookies – don’t skip this!
- 1:1 Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: Since these cookies are naturally gluten-free, it calls for a gluten-free baking flour. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill – however, any 1:1 baking flour (or even conventional all-purpose flour) works just as well.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these cookies rise and take on their light and fluffy texture!
- Milk Chocolate Bars: This may be a hot take, but I believe that chopped chocolate bars taste BETTER in cookies than chocolate chips! Pick your favorite milk chocolate bar, chop it up, and add it to these cookies. You won’t regret it!
- Salted Pistachios: Of course, it wouldn’t be pistachio cookies without the pistachios!
- Flaky Sea Salt: A pinch of flaky sea salt adds the perfect finishing touch to these cookies!
How to Make These Soft & Nutty Holiday Cookies
To make these cookies, start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Next, prepare the brown butter. Add a small saucepan, to the stove, over medium heat, and add in the butter. Stir the butter until it’s melted – this should take approximately 2 minutes.
Watch the butter carefully as it melts and bubbles. As soon as the surface starts to turn brown and the butter smells nutty, remove it from the heat. It’s important to watch it carefully, so that it doesn’t burn! Set the browned butter aside to cool for 2-5 minutes.
Once the butter is cool, add it to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer alongside the cane sugar and brown sugar and mix to combine. Then, add in the egg and the vanilla extract and mix again until it’s smooth and glossy. Then, fold in the gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour, if using), and baking soda and mix again, on low (if using a stand mixer) until the flour is just incorporated and a thick dough forms. Be careful not to over-mix here, otherwise the cookies will turn out tough!
While the dough is mixing, chop the pistachios and chocolate. Then, gently fold them into the dough. Next, grab the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop the cookie dough into evenly-sized balls – approximately 3 tablespoons of dough each. You can do this by hand or use a cookie scoop. Add the dough balls to the parchment sheet and repeat until all the dough has been used. You should end up with 12 cookies.
Finally, transfer the tray into the oven and bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are browned and set. Once they’re done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Garnish them with a pinch of flaky sea salt, then serve and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Tanya Pilgrim
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop I love using a cookie scoop to ensure that the cookies are evenly-sized!
- Baking Sheet this baking sheet is perfect for preparing your holiday cookie recipes!
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter, salted
- ¼ Cup Cane Sugar
- ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ⅓ Cup 1:1 Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, or substitute conventional all-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Milk Chocolate Bars, roughly chopped – this is approximately 3/4 cup of chocolate
- ¾ Cup Salted Pistachios, finely chopped
- Flaky Sea Salt, for garnishing
Instructions
- To make these cookies, start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Next, prepare the brown butter. Add a small saucepan, to the stove, over medium heat, and add in the butter.
- Stir the butter until it's melted – this should take approximately 2 minutes.
- Watch the butter carefully as it melts and bubbles. As soon as the surface starts to turn brown and the butter smells nutty, remove it from the heat. It's important to watch it carefully, so that it doesn't burn! Set the browned butter aside to cool for 2-5 minutes.
- Once the butter is cool, add it to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer alongside the cane sugar and brown sugar and mix to combine.
- Then, add in the egg and the vanilla extract and mix again until it's smooth and glossy.
- Then, fold in the gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour, if using), and baking soda and mix again, on low (if using a stand mixer) until the flour is just incorporated and a thick dough forms. Be careful not to over-mix here, otherwise the cookies will turn out tough!
- While the dough is mixing, chop the pistachios and chocolate. Then, gently fold them into the dough.
- Next, grab the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop the cookie dough into evenly-sized balls – approximately 3 tablespoons of dough each. You can do this by hand or use a cookie scoop. Add the dough balls to the parchment sheet and repeat until all the dough has been used. You should end up with 12 cookies.
- Finally, transfer the tray into the oven and bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are browned and set.
- Once they're done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Garnish them with a pinch of flaky sea salt, then serve and enjoy!
Rate & review
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What others are saying
i’m OBSESSED!
OMG!! This recipe is perfect. So delicious, it is soft, sweet, chewy…amazing!! ❤️❤️❤️
I am so happy to hear that, Karla! Thank you so much for your review!
Can always count on Kale Junkie for the BEST cookie recipes. It all started with the life changing tahinis. Never lets me down! The milk chocolate is perfect in this recipe!
YAY! Thank you so much, Emilee!
These cookies, brown butter chocolate pistachio are out of this world. A must for any occasion.
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
OMG- My family loved this! These were AMAZING! Loved them. Cooked them 2 min less than directed and they were chewy right in the center. Perfect and will make again!
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Kaitlyn! Thank you so much for making this recipe and for your kind review!
These were so good! I used coconut sugar (about a cup) and just used chocolate chips and they came out amazing
My family loved this!
Woohoo! I am so thrilled to hear that, Mary, thank you!