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.
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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 looooove that these cookies are dual demensional because they could be left in cake form or they could be cut like you did into individual cookies
Thanks Kendall and yes, very true!
Love, love, love buttery shortbread, and you’ve got a wonderful combination of flavors in your Lemon Pistachio Shortbread Cookies! I love your tip to be sure to make plenty of glaze. I get so frustrated when making anything that needs dipping or spreading, and you’re scraping out the bowl to finish the job! Merry Christmas!
Thanks Tamara and yes, I’ve done that bowl scraping thing and it’s frustrating! I try my best to avoid frustrations in the kitchen :)
Love all the tips you share – I’d be disappointed if mine didn’t turn out as pretty, so thankful for the tips. The glaze sounds absolutely perfect and the flavor of the lemon paired with the pistachios is right up my alley! Beautiful pictures as always!
Thanks so much, Milena :)
These are so pretty! I would have such a hard time only grabbing one of these, I could probably eat all of them.
Thanks Meg and yes, I’ve been having a hard time leaving these alone :)
Gorgeous! And it sounds delicious!
Thanks so much, Alisa :)
I’ve died and gone to holiday cookie heaven Jennifer! I can never get enough shortbread at holiday time! Delicious work!
Thanks Mary Ann!
Oh my, those look so special, the flavor combo is one I’ve never tried, but it’s a natural! Pinning and sharing :)
Thanks so much, Sue :)
Can I come to your kitchen for Xmas? What a fabulous combinations of lemon and pistachio. It is so beautifully presented. Thanks for including the removal tips! Love how you improvised and shared those tricks. Lovely!
Thanks Cindy :) Turned out I had a 10-inch and a 12-inch tart pan, but no 9-inch! Sometimes, you have to improvise in the kitchen, for sure.
Shortbread is a must for the holidays. Loving the glaze and crunch of those nuts!
Thanks so much, Cathy :)
These look absolutely delicious Jennifer! Loves me some shortbread cookies :)
Thanks Dawn and me, too :)
I would love to be a little mouse living somewhere in your kitchen. I know I would give everything 5 stars!
Thanks Chris :)
These look and sound amazing Jennifer and I love how easy they are. What a wonderful combination of flavors!
Thanks Chris and yes, loved these flavours :)
These are SO lovely, Jennifer! Very delicate looking. Perfect for a cup of tea!
Thanks so much, Liz :)
This is everything we want in our holiday baking….and then some! I just love buttery shortbread and this fits the bill! Happy holidays, my friend!
Thanks Annie and to you and yours, as well :)
The perfect cookie with everything I love – buttery crisp shortbread, and bright lemon icing! How perfect for anytime of the year but especially during the holidays. Sharing and pinning!
Thanks so much, Tricia :)