Pistachio Cherry Meltaway Cookies

If you are really into pistachios, add these nutty recipes for Pistachio Shortbread Cookies and Orange Pistachio Biscotti to your holiday baking list.

What are meltaway cookies?

What is a meltaway cookie? A meltaway is a cookie with a soft texture, similar to a shortbread, that is made of butter, flour, and cornstarch. These types of cookies tend to melt in your mouth and deliver plenty of flavor.

Why You'll Love These Pistachio Christmas Cookies

When I first saw these cookies, I instantly fell in love with them for the holidays. The beautiful green color of the cookies combined with the red of the cherries put it on the top of my red and green cookie list.

The pistachio pudding adds a wonderful flavor but the addition of freshly chopped pistachios puts the flavor over the top. I would recommend buying the pistachios already shelled as my fingers got pretty tired from cracking all the nuts open. (but it was worth it! 🙂 )

These cookies are fantastic for cookie swaps, neighborly Christmas tins, and potluck dinners. If you are taking them to a party, you might want to double the recipe as it only makes 2 ½ dozen.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these meltaway pistachio pudding cookies:

• Butter - use salted butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix - make sure it contains 3.4 ounces
• All-purpose flour
• Almond extract
• Green Food Coloring (optional)
• Pistachio nuts - shelled are the quickest and easiest to work with
• Maraschino Cherries

How to Make Pistachio Cherry Meltaway Cookies

Here are the easy recipe steps for making pistachio butter meltaway cookies with cherries:

1. Place softened butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Beat them together until they become smooth and fluffy.
3. Add flour and pudding mix to creamed mixture. Beat well.
4. Continue mixing while adding almond extract and green food coloring, if desired.
5. Add chopped pistachio nuts and cherries that have been blotted dry with paper towels.
6. Stir gently with a spoon until combined.

7. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1-2 hours to make it easier to handle.
8. Using a spoon or small cookie scoop, roll into 1" balls and place on a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheet.
9. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

11. Finish them with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

These tender, buttery pistachio pudding cookies all dressed in red and green will look perfect on your cookie trays. Christmas never tasted so delicious. Enjoy!

Recipe Variations

• Add ½ cup of white chocolate chips to the dough.
• Use candied cherries instead of maraschino cherries.
• Use heart, snowflake, or star-shaped red sprinkles instead of cherries.
• Instead of sprinkling with powdered sugar, you can dip or drizzle the cookies with melted white chocolate.
• Top them with a white chocolate Hershey's Kiss as soon as they come out of the oven.

Recipe Tips

• Chop the cherries into small pieces (dice) so they won't be big chunks of cherries in the cookies.
• Pat the cherries dry with a paper towel before adding them to the dough. This will help prevent the juice from coloring the dough or having red streaks in the cookies.
• Don't skip softening the butter. Softened butter is needed for the correct dough consistency. Do not use melted butter.
• Don't overmix the dough. Stop mixing as soon as the ingredients are combined.
• If the dough is sticky, freeze it for 10 minutes.
• Baking these cookies on parchment or a silicone mat is a must. Do not try to bake them on a greased or ungreased cookie sheet.
• Be sure to use instant pistachio pudding and not the kind you have to cook.
• Do not skip refrigerating the dough or your cookies will spread too thin and may burn.
• You can make this dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for 24 hours.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet set on top of a wire rack. They will fall apart if you try to transfer warm cookies to a wire rack.
• The pistachios can be omitted if you do not want the crunch from the nuts. Omitting them will not make them nut-free.
• Do not overbake. The cookies should be soft in the middle so they melt in your mouth. Remove them from the oven when the bottoms are just lightly browned.

How to Store Meltaway Cookies

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They are best eaten within 5 days. The powdered sugar topping may get absorbed into the cookie. Just sprinkle more powdered sugar on them before serving.

Freeze them in a freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag. Frozen meltaway cookies will last for up to 3 months.

More Christmas Cookie Recipes

• Brazil Nut Snowball Cookies
• Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
• Eggnog Cookies
• No Bake Cathedral Cookies
• Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
• White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

Want more? Find the best Christmas cookie recipes right here on 2CM!