Rose Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
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Buttery slice-and-bake pistachio shortbread are simple, classic cookies dressed up with dried rose petals.
Lightly sweet and deliciously buttery, these pretty pistachio shortbread cookies are flecked with dried rose petals and a delicate touch of rosewater.
The cookies have that distinctive sandy, crunchy texture and a really nice way of just melting in your mouth.
And bonus — this is a slice-and-bake cookie dough that keeps well for days in the fridge and longer than that in the freezer.
Make the dough and bake a batch whenever you want! Basic shortbread dough is a perfect base for adding other flavors.
This combination of pistachios and roses conjures up romantic pictures in my mind of another place – in fact I’ve been haunted by the idea of this Persian Love Cake recipe for that very reason.
These pistachio shortbread look very fetching with dried rose petals, which are available at some stores like Whole Foods (and also of course on Amazon).
But if you don’t have rose petals don’t let that stop you from making these cookies.
The petals themselves don’t have a strong rose flavor, but the rosewater does add a hint of musky perfume to the dough.
The same amount of orange flower water or pure vanilla extract would be equally delicious.
Tips for making pistachio shortbread:
- Shortbread cookies are basically the best excuse to eat butter (along with some sugar and flour). So the number one tip is: use good butter when you make shortbread dough. Maybe splurge on the fancy, higher-fat European style butters in your market or an organic cultured butter.
- Make tight and compact logs for easier slicing — roll the wrapped dough firmly against your work surface.
- Slice the dough when it’s very cold and use the sharpest knife in your drawer.
- If the dough crumbles in places as you slice it into cookies, just press and patch them together on the baking sheet.
- Definitely use a nonstick Silpat or parchment paper to line your baking sheet. I love the convenience of this pre-cut parchment.
- To store the dough in the freezer, double wrap the logs in plastic and then put those in a heavy-duty plastic bag to prevent ice crystals from forming.
Rose Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies
- 1¾ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (226 g) cold butter (2 sticks), cut into tablespoons
- ⅔ cup (135 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- ⅓ cup (41 g) + 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios, finely chopped
- 2 (30 g) tablespoons dried edible rose petals, crushed (optional)
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch and salt together in a bowl.
- In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter 1 minute on medium speed. Add the sugar and rose water and continue beating on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and satiny, like thick mayonnaise (this can take 5 minutes or more depending on the temperature of your kitchen).
- Scrape down the bowl with a spatula, then add the flour mixture on low speed until it’s incorporated. Stir in the pistachios and 1 tablespoon of the rose petals (if using). The dough will be crumbly and not quite hold together – that’s okay.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and gently squeeze and push the dough together to form a ball. Divide the dough in half and roll into firm logs about 6 inches long. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.
- Preheat oven to 350 (175 C) degrees with the racks arranged in thirds. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Brush the logs with the egg white. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons pistachios and 1 tablespoon rose petals on a large plate or shallow pan. Roll the logs in the mixture to coat.
- With a thin, sharp knife, slice the logs into ½-inch-thick cookies (not any thinner or the cookies won't hold their shape) and arrange on the baking sheets.
- Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the edges begin to turn light golden. The cookies will be soft, but will firm as they cool.
- Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Hi there, can i substitute almond flour for the regular flour and monkfruit for the sugar in this recipe?
Hi Su Ann – Great question. I have not tested these cookies using almond flour or monkfruit so can’t say for sure how it will turn out.
The recipe says it will be dry and difficult to form, but my dough is very fluffy, far from dry. Not sure what to do now? I checked all measurements twice. Could my butter be too warm?
Hi Minnie, yes it’s possible your butter was warm. It’s okay if the dough is fluffy. If it’s too sticky, just refrigerate the dough until chilled enough to slice.
Did anyone else yield about dozen instead of 24? Not sure what I’m doing wrong
It could depend on how thick you sliced the cookies. Did you have 2 (6-inch) logs? If sliced about 1/2-inch thick, it should yield 12 slices per log.
WOW these cookies look and sound simply amazing! I love the flavors combination – pistachio and rose is so unique and creative!
Thank you Natalie! Pistachio and rose are a dreamy combo :))