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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Vegan flourless pistachio cookies

November 13, 2015 by Ania - 23

easy, gluten-free, Italiango to recipe

go to recipe

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.

PS: If you make my vegan flourless pistachio cookies, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

whole pistachios in a jar

ground pistachios

vegan flourless pistachio cookies raw

vegan flourless pistachio cookies baked

vegan flourless pistachio cookies close up

5.00 from 3 votes
Print
  • makes: 14 cookies
  • prep: 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.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Maikki | Maikin mokomin says

    November 23, 2015 at 6:15 am

    I like how easy and versatile this recipe is 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 23, 2015 at 10:36 am

      Thanks Maikki:)

      Reply
  2. Erin says

    December 17, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    I love pistachio’s!! These look fantastic! Pinning 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 17, 2015 at 4:34 pm

      Thanks Erin:)

      Reply
  3. Madeleine Downs says

    August 7, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    I sit possible to substitute the caster sugar for maple syrup or do you think that will throw off the recipe?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 8, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      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

      Reply
  4. Andrea says

    January 28, 2017 at 1:03 am

    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?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 28, 2017 at 1:23 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        January 30, 2017 at 9:42 pm

        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.

        Reply
  5. Maryanne says

    October 18, 2017 at 8:00 am

    have you ever tried freezing these for later on?? :)?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      October 18, 2017 at 10:11 am

      No, I haven’t, I’m afraid.

      Reply
  6. Sandra says

    December 22, 2018 at 3:29 am

    Hello! My husband recently went vegan – is it possible to use the brine from canned chickpeas instead of making my own?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 22, 2018 at 7:02 pm

      Yes, definitely, just try to get low-sodium chickpeas if you can! Ania

      Reply
  7. Devika says

    July 13, 2020 at 3:32 am

    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 ?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 13, 2020 at 12:40 pm

      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

      Reply
  8. Beverly Booker says

    July 23, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 23, 2020 at 2:46 pm

      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

      Reply
  9. Garlic Girl says

    November 3, 2020 at 5:21 am

    Tasty😋😋😋

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 3, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      Thank you 🙂 I’m glad you liked them! Ania

      Reply
  10. Bridget says

    January 2, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    Just made my third batch in about 2 weeks ( this time I doubled the recipe). So quick and easy. Possibly my favourite vegan cookie!!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 3, 2021 at 7:21 pm

      I’m delighted to hear that, Bridget. Thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed them so much! x Ania

      Reply
  11. Bridget says

    January 2, 2021 at 11:51 pm

    In the US , I successfully use Bob’s Red Mill flax seed meal.
    Would xanthan gum work?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 3, 2021 at 7:20 pm

      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

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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