Vegan flourless pistachio cookies

Vegan flourless pistachio cookies

vegan flourless pistachio cookies stack

I love eating well and feeling healthy, but I do have one weakness, which tends to rear its ugly head now and again. In case my free e-book full of sweet recipes hasn’t conveyed that impression, I have a massive sweet tooth!

It also happens that you guys seem to go crazy for sweet recipes much more than the savoury ones and that’s more than enough encouragement as far as I’m concerned. I do try to keep my sweet cravings in check as I know that excess sugar tends to wreak havoc with your body, but balance is everything and so one small cookie with your afternoon coffee shouldn’t hurt, should it?

These vegan flourless pistachio cookies require only 5 ingredients, are super simple to make and contain no gluten. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

They keep well (if you are able to leave them alone, that is) and even if they do go a bit stale after a few days, they are still very nice when dunked in hot tea or coffee.

whole pistachios in a jar

ground pistachios

vegan flourless pistachio cookies raw

vegan flourless pistachio cookies baked

vegan flourless pistachio cookies close up

makes
14 cookies
PREP
20 min
COOKING
15 min
makes
14 cookies
PREPARATION
20 min
COOKING
15 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 100 g / just under 1 cup almond meal or slivered almonds
  • 150 g / 1 cup shelled pistachios*, divided
  • 80 g / heaped 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 50 ml / 3½ tbsp aquafaba / chickpea brine**
  • zest of 1 small orange (optional)
METHOD
  1. If using slivered almonds, grind them into a powder (it doesn’t need to be super fine) in a coffee grinder or a food processor.
  2. Take 100 g of pistachios and grind them into a coarse powder (doesn’t need to be as fine as almond meal). Leave a few bigger chunks in for extra texture.
  3. Chop remaining 50 g of pistachios quite coarsely and spread them on a large plate.
  4. In a big mixing bowl, combine almond meal / ground almonds, ground pistachios, sugar and orange zest (if using). Mix it all well and then add enough aquafaba (I used 50 ml, it may end up being a more or a bit less) to bind all the ingredients together and produce a sticky cookie dough.
  5. Divide dough into 14 equally sized pieces – I used scales (each cookie weighs 25 g). Roll each portion of dough between the palms of your hands and then lightly press into chopped pistachios to coat on both sides.
  6. Preheat the oven to 175° C / 350° F. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool down before transferring to a plate (or else they may fall apart). Store in an airtight container.

NOTES
*You can use almonds or hazelnuts instead.

**Aquafaba is chickpea brine obtained from a tin of chickpeas or you can make your own. When making your own, soak chickpeas in lots of water overnight, rinse and put in a large pot with lots of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour (until beans are soft). Remove cooked chickpeas with a slotted spoon and what’s left in your pot is aquafaba. If it is too runny (ideally it should resemble egg whites), you can concentrate it a bit by simmering it on a low heat (without a lid) until it reaches the desired consistency. Cool it down before using in these cookies.

My recipe is adapted loosely from this recipe.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
125
6%
sugars
7 g
8%
fats
8 g
12%
saturates
1 g
5%
proteins
4 g
7%
carbs
10 g
4%
*per cookie
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5.0
4 reviews, 21 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Kiran vinod:
I have tried these so many times, and I used egg white. These are so tasty that my husband feels I can start cookie business. Lol
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad you enjoyed them, Kiran! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review. x Ania
Bridget:
In the US , I successfully use Bob’s Red Mill flax seed meal.
Would xanthan gum work?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Bridget,
    Yes, you can use ground flaxseeds - please look at this recipe for ratios. As for using xanthan gum, you would need to use a lot to get the same effect and I am not sure a) if it would work quite the same b) if it's good for you in large doses. Hope this helps! Ania
Bridget:
Just made my third batch in about 2 weeks ( this time I doubled the recipe). So quick and easy. Possibly my favourite vegan cookie!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm delighted to hear that, Bridget. Thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed them so much! x Ania
Garlic Girl:
Tasty😋😋😋
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you :) I'm glad you liked them! Ania
Beverly Booker:
I'm Not Vegan.But,I Want To Eat Healthier These Days.I Would Love To Try This Cookie Recipe.Is There Any Other Alternative To Use Than The Chick Pea Brine?I'm Allergic To Those Beans...Any Suggestions?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Beverly,
    I haven't tested it in this context, but my experience in vegan baking tells me that a flax or chia egg (explained properly here) will work also. Not sure what country you are in but in the UK there is a brand of already ground up flax called Linwood that I found to be much less effective than whole flax seeds ground up at home (I use a coffee grinder and store them in a glass jar in a dark cupboard - they keep for ages). Hope this helps! Ania
Devika:
Omg, can’t believe I’m finding out about your blog now ! Amazing GF recipe! I have a sweet tooth just like you do.
Just wondering, can you replace sugar with a healthier alternative ?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for your kind words, Devika. I am pretty sure that brown cane sugar or even coconut sugar might work well, but I have not tried using either of them myself so cannot guarantee 100%. Hope this helps! Ania
Sandra:
Hello! My husband recently went vegan - is it possible to use the brine from canned chickpeas instead of making my own?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, definitely, just try to get low-sodium chickpeas if you can! Ania
Maryanne:
have you ever tried freezing these for later on?? :)?
    Ania
    Ania:
    No, I haven't, I'm afraid.
Andrea:
Wanted to make these for my brother, who has recently been put on a restrictive diet. ALL grains, and ALL legumes, are out. Is it possible to use the flax egg substitute, rather than aquafaba?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Andrea,
    I have not tried using a flax egg in this recipe and as it has slightly different properties to AF, I am not 100% it will have the same effect, I'm afraid. Ania
      Andrea:
      That was my thought,unfortunately. I promised him a cookie, and I think these may be it, and I will just have to try it, lol. Thanks for the response! I'll let you know how they come out.
Madeleine Downs:
I sit possible to substitute the caster sugar for maple syrup or do you think that will throw off the recipe?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Madeleine,
    The issue I can see with that substitution is that you may find it difficult to form the cookies as the dough will end up too runny. You could try baking them as a large sheet and then break them into smaller pieces, it MAY work, but you'll need to experiment, I'm afraid.
    Hope that helps a little,
    Ania
Erin:
I love pistachio's!! These look fantastic! Pinning :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Erin:)
Maikki | Maikin mokomin:
I like how easy and versatile this recipe is :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Maikki:)
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