These pretty lemon pistachio shortbread cookies are topped with a sweet glaze, for a delicious and easy sweet treat.
Shortbread cookies are always a favourite of mine, any time of year. They are especially nice for the holidays though, as they are both delicious and keep well. These Lemon Pistachio Shortbread Cookies add a little extra, topping buttery, flaky shortbread cookies with a tangy, lemon icing sugar glaze and a sprinkling of salted, roasted pistachios.
While these may look fancy, they are in fact, super easy to make. The cookies bake up in a round in a pan. Simply press in the dough! Once cut into wedges, they are just dipped into the glaze and sprinkled with pistachios. No need for piping bags here.
So I hope you will give these delicious cookies a try over the holidays. They keep really well and you can even freeze them. And of course, they would make a lovely gift cookie.
These Lemon Pistachio Shortbread cookies are the trifecta of cookies. Pretty, easy and delicious. Everything you want for holiday baking!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Pistachios – you can use roasted salted pistachios or raw pistachios. Roasted have more flavour, but raw are brighter in colour.
Lemon – you can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons.
Butter – bust out your best butter for these shortbread cookies. Unsalted butter is specified, as it is generally fresher. If using salted butter, adjust the added salt in the cookies accordingly.
Recipe Tips
- If you have a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, that would be ideal for these cookies. Not only will you be able to remove them from the pan easily, you will get a lovely scalloped edge around the outside of your cookies.
- I didn’t have a 9-inch tart pan though, so I used a 9-inch round cake pan lined with a round of parchment on the bottom. It bakes up just as well, but makes it a little trickier to remove the cookies after they’ve cooled. I find that lifting out the first cookie with a fork from the thick, outside edge is the easiest way to go. Once you have the first one out, it’s a breeze after that. If it happens to break, consider it a “baker’s sample” and eat it. You’ll still be able to make a nice circle of cookies even if you’re missing that one ;)
- As you dip your cookies to glaze, you may start to get some small bits of cookie in your glaze. Simply use a spoon to move those bits to the edges, away from where you are dipping, so you don’t get cookie bits in your glaze.
Top Tip!
I’ve increased the amount of glaze here, as I find that it’s much easier to dip when you start with a good amount of glaze. You don’t want to be scraping the bottom of the bowl. That’s not going to make pretty cookies. Having more glaze to start just avoids all that, but it does mean that you will have more than you need to glaze all these cookies. I hate to waste, but it’s only a bit of icing sugar and lemon juice. Or if you happen to have other baking that needs a dollop of something, you can use your extra that way.
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, reduce to a pinch if using salted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained of seeds and pulp
- 1/4 cup salted, roasted pistachios, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter, icing sugar vanilla and salt until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in flour just until combined.
- Press dough into a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom (or alternately, a 9-inch round cake pan, lining the bottom with a round of parchment paper.) Flatten dough with the palm of your hand to make a smooth surface. Using a sharp knife, score the surface of the dough in to 16 wedges. Prick each wedge with a fork twice. Refrigerate pan with dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
- Bake cookies in preheated oven until firm and pale golden, about 50-55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then, using a sharp knife, cut through the score lines you made before baking, wiping off the blade between each cut. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare glaze by whisking together the icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Tip: Be sure to use a bowl that will allow you to dip the cookies in flat from end to end, so it should be at least 5-inches wide. That said, don't use too big a bowl or your glaze will be too thin a layer and you may bottom-out when you dip).
- Remove cookies from pan to a rack. Holding a cookie by the sides, dip the top of the cookie into the glaze to coat. Hold point side down and allow the excess to drip off. Gently remove any drip at the point end by running it along the edge of the bowl. Place on to rack. Once you've done 4 or 5, sprinkle those ones with some of the chopped pistachio. Repeat until you have glazed and sprinkled all the cookies. Allow to stand until the glaze is set, about 1 hour. Store in a flat even layer in an airtight container. These keep well stored at room temperature for about a week. These would also freeze well!
Notes
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I’ve made these 3 years in a row, they are amazing !
So glad you are enjoying them, Anna :) Thanks so much!
Hi! I am excited to make these cookies for my mom on mothers day. I have a question, can these be baked as individual cookies or does it have to be baked as one? (I don’t have a pie or springform pan so I am hoping I can make these as individual cookies)
Thank you so much!
Hi Kat, I have never tried it, so I’m not sure how much this dough will spread if not confined to a pan. If you want to give it a go, this is how I would do it. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Roll/form the dough into a round the same size as the pan would be and cut the dough into triangles. Then transfer the round onto a baking sheet with the parchment paper. Bake off and while still warm, re-slice the triangles to separate. I might chill the round before slicing and baking, to make neater slices and to control the spread of the dough.
I just wanted to share my success with your pretty shortbread cookies. I only wish I could find the pretty dried flowers. I made them over a week ago and stored in the fridge as instructed. I am sure that my friends will love them.. we have sneaked a few out of the foil just to test them. So good and really are pretty. Thank you. and Merry Christmas.
Hi Susy and I’m so glad to hear! Thanks and Merry Christmas to you, as well :)
This is an amazing recipe! Makes baking easy ! Every Christmas without fail I make them and my kids ask me for them constantly!
Thanks so much, Anna! I love how easy (but impressive) these cookies are too :)
Wondering if I could do this in a square or rectangular pan (what size)? So I can cut them smaller and square like bite size pieces instead of large wedges?
Hi Francesca and sure, you could bake these up in an 8-inch square pan instead.
One of the nicest cookie recipes ever! Easy and oh so flavorful…As it is now mid-June and my herb garden is a happy place, I picked some fresh lemon balm and chopped it up finely along with some fresh lemon zest and added that to the shortbread base. Thank you so much for sharing this – it is definitely going to be part of our family recipes.
Sounds lovely, Patricia :) So glad you are enjoying them! Thanks so much.
I never comment on recipes but since this is my third year in a row baking these I figured I owe it to everyone to say that these are amazing! I follow the recipe exactly as written and they turn out perfect every time. This is now my signature Christmas cookie that everyone asks for!
So happy to hear, Jessica and thanks so much :)
Do you think a silicone cake mold would affect the baking time? Or do you think a springform pan would work better?? These look SO GOOD I just don’t want to mess them up!
Hi Allie, I would go with the springform pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper so you can slide the round easily off the springform base (let cool a few minutes so the firm up first) and onto a cutting board. Use a good, sharp knife to cut the wedges. Be sure to use a big enough bowl for your glaze, so your wedges can be dipped in flat. Dip just so the cookie goes into the glaze a bit, lift and angle so the excess drips off the tip of the cookie back into the bowl, then lay flat on a cooling rack to set. Sprinkle tops while the glaze is still wet though. You’ve got this ;)
These turned out perfectly!! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks Ash :) Glad you enjoyed them!
How did you cut this cookies into this shape? Did you slice it before putting in the oven and then again mid-bake?
You just need to score the top of the dough with a knife before putting them in the oven. Then bake. While still warm, cut along the score lines completely to separate the cookies into triangles.
Is it possible to make the dough ahead of time and freeze? Or make ahead and refrigerate? If so, for how long?
Hi Dhara, I have never tried to freeze the dough. It should keep in the fridge, well wrapped, for up to 24 hours I would think.
This was the first recipe I’ve tried from this site, and also my very first time making shortbread! At first, I was skeptical because I had a hard time getting the dough levelled evenly in the pan. However, these turned out absolutely deliciously, and look so beautiful! My family loved them! I did have some leftover lemon glaze, so I used that to top off cheesecake bars! Thank you so much Jen for these delicious recipes!
So glad to hear, Kay! Thanks so much :)
Very excited to make these tonight! But just curious if you let the cookies cool at all before dipping them in the icing after they cook? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Jasmine and yes, you’ll want to make sure the cookies are completely cool before dipping in the glaze. Any warmth in the cookie will melt the glaze. Do enjoy!
Fantastic recipe and so easy to make. I used a pizza cutter to quickly score the shortbread before baking but that’s the only thing I did differently. They look lovely on my white platter!
So glad to hear, Xia! Thanks :)
Hi Jennifer, I have been asked to take baked goods to a rehersal party. I have made your Dad’s shortbread and they are excellent. I am thinking of making the rose shortbreads and the lemon pistachio along with your Dad’s. Do the lemon and rose shortbread get better with age also?
Thanks
Hi Eliza and no, I find these ones have pretty good flavour right off the hop. They do keep pretty well though, so fine to make a little ahead.