Pistachio Shortbread Cookies with a Floral Twist: Rose Pistachio Delights

I like to gift cookies to my friends and family for Christmas and the cookie assortment always has a couple of different shortbread cookies. The ingredient list is so unbelievably simple, yet it tastes divine. Shortbread is a traditional Scottish cookie made with butter, sugar, and flour. Since it is so rich and buttery, it just melts in your mouth. My staple is the Cranberry & Pistachio shortbread cookie that I religiously bake large batches of each year.  But I also make sure to try a new flavor combination each year and for this year it was the Pistachio Cookies with Rose.   And let me tell you, it’s a keeper for sure.  I bake an Eggless Rose Pistachio Cake and so the idea stemmed from there to make a shortbread cookie with the same rose pistachio flavors. 

The cookie dough is speckled with small pieces of raw pistachios and edible dried roses and lightly flavored with some rose water. Once the cookies are baked and cooled, they are partially dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with dried rose and chopped pistachios. 

Join me as I guide you step by step through the process of creating these irresistible pistachio shortbread cookies, from mixing the buttery dough to decorating them with a luscious white chocolate drizzle and a sprinkling of fragrant rose petals. Prepare to impress your friends and loved ones with these visually stunning and utterly delicious Rose Pistachio Shortbread Cookies.

Ingredients used to make Pistachio Cookies with Rose

• 1 cup, 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp Rose water
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons dried rose petals

White chocolate frosting and toppings:

• 8 oz good quality white chocolate bar
• 2 tablespoons chopped raw, unsalted pistachios
• 2 tablespoons dried rose petals

How to make Pistachio Shortbread Cookies with Rose

1. Chop the pistachios into small pieces. Set aside.
2. Using a handheld or stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and salt for 1-2 minutes till well combined.
3. Add rose water and flour and mix to combine. The dough should come together nicely, but if it does not, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.
4. Add the chopped pistachios and dried rose petals and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Divide the dough into two and form discs. Wrap the discs in saran wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Take 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place 1 dough disc on parchment and cover it with the other.  Roll the dough with a large rolling pin in between the 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll to about ½ inch thickness. Remove 1 piece of parchment and cut out the rolled dough using desired cookie cutter shapes.  Once the dough is all cut out, you can re-roll the remaining dough and cut it out further. 
8. Place about 12 cookies on 1 cookie sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes. The edges of the cookies should be slightly golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and cool the coolies completely on a cookie rack.
10. While the cookies are cooling, work on the white chocolate frosting. Using a serrated knife cut the white chocolate bar into small pieces. Place it in a small glass bowl. We will melt it in the microwave.
11. Start by microwaving it for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate in between each cooking interval.  Microwave it in 30-sec intervals till completely melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. 
12. Once the cookies are completely cool, dip half of the cookie in the melted white chocolate. Lay it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and immediately top it with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios and crushed rose petals. Once you repeat the step for all the cookies, put them in the fridge for 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
13. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Slice and Bake cookies vs. Rolled and cut out cookies

I have used the slice-and-bake method for my Cranberry and Pistachio shortbread cookie recipe. For the slice-and-bake cookies, you can make the shortbread dough up to a month in advance, tightly wrap the cookie dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. When ready to bake cookies, remove the logs from the refrigerator an hour prior, slice, and bake.

For the Pistachio Shortbread cookie with Rose recipe, I decided to do the roll and cut-out method. Although there is the extra step of rolling the dough, the cookies turn out a lot prettier with this method.  I have used a pretty scalloped edge round cookie cutter, but you can use any shape you want. Making heart-shaped Rose Pistachio cookies for Valentine’s would be amazing. But you can certainly use the slice-and-bake method for these cookies as well. 

1. Mixed dough
2. Dough disc ready to be rolled
3. Dough rolled in between 2 pieces of parchment paper
4. Cut out cookies

Recipe Tips for Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

Holiday time around December can be stressful with all the shopping, decorating, and cooking.  So, you definitely need some make-ahead tips to make life easier. Here are a few tips for you:

• You can make the shortbread cookie dough, shape it into a couple of discs, tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to a month. When you are ready to bake cookies, remove the cookie discs from the refrigerator an hour prior, roll them in between parchment paper, cut them out, and bake.
• Use edible dried rose petals for the cookie dough and decoration on top.
• Use unsalted and raw pistachios, chopped for the cookie dough. 
• Good quality white chocolate makes a huge difference in taste. Do not use artificially flavored chocolate bark.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie rack before you dip them in white chocolate. 
• Once you dip the cookies in white chocolate lay it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Put it in the fridge for 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden. 

FAQs- Pistachio Shortbread Cookies with Rose

Other delicious cookie recipes for the Holidays

Eggless Sugar Cookies

Pecan Sandies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

Eggless Sugar Cookies

Try this recipe

Pecan Sandies

Try this recipe

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Try this recipe

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

Try this recipe

Recipe Card- Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies with a Floral Twist: Rose Pistachio Delights

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Recipe by Divya Jhaveri

5 from 9 votes

Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Baking time

18

minutes

Cooling time

45-60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks), Unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2/3 cup White Sugar

• 1 teaspoon Rose Water

• 2 1/4 cups All purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup raw unsalted pistachios, chopped

• 2 tablespoons Dried rose petals

• White Chocolate frosting and toppings

• 8 ounces Good quality bark of White Chocolate

• 2 tablespoons raw unsalted pistachios, chopped

• 2 tablespoons Dried rose petals

Method

• Using a handheld or stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and salt for 1-2 minutes till well combined. Add rose water and flour and mix to combine. The dough should come together nicely, but if it does not, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Add the chopped pistachios and dried rose petals and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
  
• Divide the dough into two and form discs. Wrap the discs in saran wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  
• Take 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place 1 dough disc on parchment and cover it with the other. Roll the dough with a large rolling pin in between the 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll to about ½ inch thickness. Remove 1 piece of parchment and cut out the rolled dough using desired cookie cutter shapes. Once the dough is all cut out, you can re-roll the remaining dough and cut it out further.
  
• Place about 12 cookies on 1 cookie sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes. The edges of the cookies should be slightly golden brown.
  Remove from the oven and cool the coolies completely on a cookie rack.
  
• While the cookies are cooling, work on the white chocolate frosting.
  Using a serrated knife cut the white chocolate bar into small pieces. Place it in a small glass bowl. We will melt it in the microwave. Start by microwaving it for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate in between each cooking interval. Microwave it in 30-sec intervals till completely melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate.
  
• Once the cookies are completely cool, dip half of the cookie in the melted white chocolate. Lay it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and immediately top it with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios and crushed rose petals. Once you repeat the step for all the cookies, put them in the fridge for 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Tips

• You can refrigerate the shortbread logs (before baking) for up to a month. When ready to bake cookies, remove the log from the refrigerator an hour prior, slice, and bake.