Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies
Prep time: 40 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Total time: 12-24 hours
Pistachio and dark chocolate may be my favourite flavour combo of 2024. These Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies are the ultimate flavour combination! There’s something about the nutty richness from the pistachios and deep cocoa flavour from the dark chocolate that pairs so well together. When you add the toasty brown butter cookie dough into the mix, it’s the ultimate cookie flavour. Be prepared to be hooked, pistachio lovers!
Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies Recipe
How to brown butter?
Browning butter is a simple, yet transformative technique that adds a rich and nutty aroma to anything you use it in. It is essentially the process of melting and then cooking your butter until the milk fats caramelize, and the butter is golden. There are a few key things you don’t want to skip here.
- Ensure you choose a heavy bottomed, light coloured pan. I like to use a stainless steel pot or pan here.
- Allow the butter to melt and brown over medium/low heat. You want to keep this more low than medium. This will ensure your butter browns properly.
- NEVER step away from your browning butter. I know this one from experience.
- When the milk fats start to caramelize and the aroma goes from buttery to slightly toasty, remove from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes. The colour will be a beautiful golden shade.
- ALWAYS scrape the caramelized bits off the bottom of your pan. These are all flavour.
Why brown butter in this cookie dough?
Using brown butter adds depth and elevated the flavour of this cookie dough. It blends beautifully with brown sugar and adds a light nuttiness. It pairs so well with darker notes from the dark chocolate and the nuttiness from the pistachios. The end result is a cookie filled with all the warm flavours.
Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies baking tips
Brown butter prep – I really like to brown a couple pounds of butter at a time and keep it in the fridge. Cool and portion it out based on the cookie recipe, and store in the fridge for a month. I like to use deli cups for this. Bring it to room temperature when you’re ready to use it.
Toasted pistachios – ALWAYS toast your pistachios when making a paste, or using in a cookie recipe. When we toast pistachios, they release their natural oils which really brings out the flavour of this nut in your bake. When blending into a paste, the toasted nuts will release their oils as they blend, and thus turn into a paste. Untoasted nuts will turn into nothing but a powder.
Chilling the dough – Now this one took me time to get behind but after rounds of recipe testing, I’ve realized that chilling the dough in the fridge for 12-24 hours is crucial. It dries the dough out of any excess moisture and also allows all the flavours to meld and marry. This will always result in a flavourful bake. At this point, they can be sealed air-tight and stored in the freezer or baked right away. I recommend ALWAYS freezing after the refrigerator for one hour minimum. Frozen dough bakes beautifully.
Round your cookies – When your cookies come out of the oven, round them out using a cookie cutter slightly larger than the finished cookie. This should. Be done immediately while the cookies are soft.
Pistachio dark chocolate bark
Melting the chocolate, mixing it with crushed pistachios, and turning into a bark that will go into your cookies, will transform these. It makes eat bite gooey and flavourful.
Pistachio paste
Pistachio spread is not the same as this pistachio paste. This paste is made of just pistachios and salt – it truly is the best way to infuse real pistachio flavour into anything. It does not have sugar in it, which really allows the nut to shine. It truly is a non-negotiable in these cookies.
Brown butter cookie dough
Paired with the dark chocolate and pistachios, the richness from the brown butter really brings everything together here. It compliments these flavours and adds the perfect depth to really allow them to shine.
Ingredients
Quality dark chocolate
A good quality dark chocolate will give the cookies the best flavour and texture. The balance of bitter, sweet, and fruity notes cannot compare to a chocolate chip (no shade, chocolate chips). Unlike the waxy texture of standard chocolate chips, a good chocolate melts more smoothly and creates the perfect chocolate puddles. Lastly, the flavour of the chocolate itself imparts the depth of cocoa that we love so much.
Pistachio paste
This pistachio paste creates ripples throughout the cookie dough to give you little flavour bursts as you devour these cookies. It really makes these cookies what they are.
Brown butter
The brown butter marries these flavours together and creates a base that is perfect.
Cake flour
Cake flour will ensure your cookies are tender and have the perfect bite. I love me a chewy cookie once in a while, but there’s nothing better than a cookie that has a soft bite for me. Feel free to sub in all-purpose flour here.
Brown sugar
The theme here is obviously warm, nutty notes, so of course this recipe is brown sugar dominant. The brown sugar creates a caramel-y flavour, adding even more to the depth.
Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Pistachio Paste
- 300 g pistachios toasted
- Pinch of salt
Chocolate Bark
- 175 g dark chocolate
- 75 g chopped pistachios toastes
Brown Butter Cookie Dough
- 125 g butter weight before browning
- 140 g brown sugar
- 35 g white sugar
- 165 g cake flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla
- 75 g pistachio paste swirled in
- 200 g pistachio chocolate bark
Instructions
- Brown the butter, and set aside. Let it cool for 1-2 hours.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together the cooled brown butter with both sugars.
- When combined, add the egg and vanilla. Mix until slightly lightened in texture.
- Add the dry mix to the butter base and mix until a cookie dough forms.
- Add in chopped pistachio dark chocolate bark.
- When combined, roughly swirls in pistachio paste.
- Scoop cookies and refrigerate for 1 hour minimum. Overnight is preferred. Cover tightly if storing overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Bake chilled cookies for 12-15 minutes based on preferred doneness.
- Remove from oven, round, and cool.
Share your Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies with us!
If you make these Brown Butter Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies, we’d love to see your creations! Tag us on Instagram @thepurplecupcake_ and be sure to check out our blog for more delicious recipes.
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What are the instructions for the pistachio paste and the bark?