Orange zest, freshly squeezed orange juice, and ground pistachios add a flavorful twist to this chewy sugar cookie recipe. The delicious result: light, chewy, nutty, fragrant, orange-infused sugar cookies that are the perfect treat.
1/2cupraw pistachiosprocessed into large coarse crumbs using a small food processor
1cupbutter softened
1 1/2cupswhite sugar
1egg
Zest of one large orange finely grated
4tbspfreshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your ingredients.
Wash and dry a large juicy navel orange. Grate off the orange zest (of the whole orange)—roughly 1 tbsp. Next, squeeze the juice into a small bowl— one orange will give you about 4 tbsp. Set aside.
In a small food processor (or using a rolling pin) pulse/roll pistachios until they resemble large coarse crumbs (see picture above). Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and the pistachio crumbs. Set aside.
In another large mixing bowl, cream softened butter with sugar. Add egg, orange zest, and orange juice and beat (using a hand mixer) until light and creamy—about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer to cream and then beat the mixture.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/orange mixture and stir until well combined. Let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. This will make the cookie dough easier to scoop and help the cookies keep their shape while baking.
Time to bake. Scoop your dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing the dough an inch and a half apart. Do NOT smush or flatten—the cookies will spread out on their own. In place of a cookie scoop, use a spoon and roll the dough between your palms into balls.
Bake for 8-10 minutes if using a small cookie scoop (2tsp). Bake larger cookies for 12-14 minutes (a medium scoop).
LET COOL. EAT. REPEAT.
Notes
When using a small cookie scoop (equal to 2 tsp) you will get 46 cookies.If using a medium cookie scoop (equal to 1 1/2 tbsp) you will get 38 cookies.