These vegan pistachio pinwheel cookies are made with swirls of vanilla and pistachio dough baked until soft on the inside with golden edges. Vegan, No-egg, No-Dairy and easy to make. The perfect cookie paired with a cup of tea / coffee.
Vegan Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies
When I tell you, THIS is a cookie recipe every single baker needs…. it really is! The combination of the buttery vanilla cookie paired with the nutty pistachio swirl is honestly heavenly. The pinwheels are super tasty, no technical decoration required and are easy to assemble. The buttery, shortbread like cookies have the most beautiful 2 toned swirl made entirely from swirling vanilla and pistachio cookie dough together, it’s such as simple but effective design technique which will impress anyone you serve these delightful little cookies too.
Looking for more pistachio recipes? Check out my Vegan Pistachio Sheet Cake and Vegan Pistachio Wreath Cookies.
Why you’ll love these cookies:
- Vegan.
- Easy to make.
- Fun to make.
- Delicious.
- Perfect pistachio flavour.
- Made with real pistachios.
- Fun pinwheel design.
- They melt in the mouth.
- Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside.
- Natural colours.
- Great served with a cup of tea / coffee.
- Less than 10 minutes to bake.
- Minimal decoration.
Ingredients you’ll need:
I have listed ingredients you’ll need for my pistachio pinwheel cookies below. Most of the ingredients you may already have to hand in your kitchen / pantry, if not, simply jot them down and pick them up on your next shopping trip. The full written ingredients list and quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Pistachios: It comes as no surprise, you’ll need pistachios for this recipe. To keep things super easy, use shelled pistachios, it’ll save your fingers from having to remove each pistachio nut from the shell, it can be super time consuming. Crush some pistachios and use to decorate the cookies too.
- Plain flour : Plain / all purpose flour works great in cookies as they don’t need to raise unlike cake or cupcakes. Make sure to sieve it before using to remove any clumps.
- Sugar : You want to use 2 sugars for this recipe, icing or powderd sugar and also caster sugar. If you’re in the US, you can use granulated sugar or a fine white sugar. This will help sweeten the cookie and keep it light.
- Dairy-free butter: Use a vegan / dairy-free block butter, making sure it’s chilled before using. Keep it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before using. If it’s soft, it will create a really soft / sticky cookie dough and may be quite difficult to work with.
- Vanilla: This is optional but a splash of vanilla extract really helps to elevate the cookie and gives the ‘plain’ cookie swirl a delicious vanilla flavour which pairs well with the pistachio.
- Dairy-free milk: You can use any dairy-free milk for this recipe, including soya, almond, oat or cashew. I personally use unsweetened soya milk.
- White chocolate: Optional decoration, but melted dairy-free white chocolate is a delicious addiction to the cookies. Simple melt the chocolate and dip the cookie in, allow to set and tuck in. I use Sainsbury Free From White Chocolate Bars.
How to make pistachio pinwheel cookies
You can find the full written method and ingredients list in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Step 1: Make the cookie dough
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugars, butter and vanilla. Mix until a cookie dough forms. Add in a splash of milk. Repeat for the pistachio cookie dough, adding in the ground pistachio nuts. Place both cookie doughs in separate pieces of cling film / plastic wrap and chill until firm to the touch
- Step 2 – Roll out the dough
Roll out the doughs separately, between sheets of grease proof / parchment paper, lightly dusted with some plain flour. Roll the doughs to approximately 1/4 inch thick and 8 x 13. Once both doughs are rolled out, place the pistachio dough on-top of the vanilla dough. Roll into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill again for a further 2 – 3 hours. This will make it easier for cutting the cookies.
- Cut the cookies
Remove the plastic wrap, using a sharp knife, cut the log into little cookies placing them on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper.
- Bake
Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly golden in colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Chocolate decoration
Melt the white chocolate, dunk a cookie in and while the chocolate is wet, sprinkle over some ground pistachios.
Pistachio pinwheel cookie FAQ
Can you make pistachio pinwheel cookies ahead of time?
- These cookies are best enjoyed freshly baked. They will last in an air tight / sealed container for 2-3 days, but definitely best enjoyed days 1 and 2. If you want to make them ahead of time, you can prepare and make the cookie dough in advance and place the dough in a freezer bag or wrapped in some baking paper and freeze. You can then bake as directed for fresh cookies anytime!
Can I roast the pistachios before using?
- OMG YES! I did this while recipe testing and although it takes a-little more time, it really gives the cookie a stronger nutty flavour which is absolutely delicious! To roast, simply place the nuts on a baking tray and place in the oven at 160 degrees c for 5-10 minutes, making sure they don’t burn allow to cool then use.
How to make the swirl more evident?
- If you wanted a really clear swirl in the cookies, try adding a small dot of green food gel to the pistachio dough. Only add this when you are creaming the butter as you want to make sure it all gets incorporated well and a lovely rich green colour. I’ve linked my go-to vegan food gel here.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
- You can, but it does make the cookie very crumbly, unlike regular flour. I would suggest a high quality gluten-free flour such as doves farm, and work very fast with the dough!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , TikTok and Facebook! Pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies are made with swirls of vanilla & pistachio dough. No-Egg, No-Dairy, delicious and only 10 minutes to bake.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the vanilla cookie
- 180g of all purpose / plain flour
- 60g of caster sugar
- 25g of icing sugar
- 75g of vegan butter (chilled)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of dairy-free milk
Ingredients for the pistachio cookie
- 80g of shelled pistachio nuts
- 150g of all purpose / plain flour
- 70g of caster sugar
- 25g of icing sugar
- 75g of vegan butter (chilled)
- 2 tablespoons of dairy-free milk
Ingredients for the dipped chocolate
- 50g of dairy-free white chocolate
- Shelled pistachios (chopped)
Instructions
Method (vanilla cookie dough)
- Add the flour, sugars, butter and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times adding in the milk and continuing to blend until a smooth ball of dough forms.
- Shape the dough into a disc and wrap loosely with cling film or grease proof paper. Place into the fridge while you make the pistachio dough.
Method (pistachio cookie dough)
- Add the pistachio nuts into a mini food processor / blender and blend until ground / fine.
- Add the ground pistachios, flour, sugars and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times adding in the milk until a smooth ball of dough forms. Optional: you can also add in a small drop of green food gel when adding in the butter for a more vivid ‘green pistachio’ colour.
- Shape the dough into a disc and wrap loosely with cling film or grease proof paper. Place into the fridge for at least 1 hour or until it feels firm / not sticky.
Method (rolling the cookie)
- Unwrap the vanilla cookie dough and place it on a sheet of grease proof paper dusted with flour with another sheet on top. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle shape until it’s approximately 1/8 inch in thickness. It should be be roughly around 8 by 13” in size. Peel away the top piece of baking paper. The amount of cookies including the swirl depend on the thickness and size of your dough. The thinner the dough, the more swirls you’ll achieve.
- Roll out the pistachio dough doing the same method in-between two sheets of grease proof paper. Peel away the top piece of baking paper. Try to make it a similar size and thickness.
- Gently lift and place the pistachio dough on top of the vanilla dough. Place a piece of baking or baking paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll the two doughs together, just a few rolls will be great hen remove the paper.
- Starting from the shorter side, very tightly roll the dough together, similar technique as a yule log (watch video for reference). Once it’s in a tight log, wrap it in cling film and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm.
Method (bake)
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
- Once the dough log is firm, use a sharp knife to cut the log into cookies, appropriately 1/4 inch thick.
- Place the cookies on the lined tray, making sure to have them apart from each other as these cookies will spread in the oven. It’s best to bake a few cookies at a time keeping the rest of the cookies in the fridge ready for baking once the first batch has baked.
- Place into the middle of the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden in colour. Slightly underbaked cookies will be softer then slightly over-baked, as these will be more of a biscuit texture.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring them on to a cooling rack to cool fully as they will firm up. If you try to remove them when they’re first out of the oven, they will be very soft and could break. Repeat for the whole batch of cookies.
- You can enjoy them as they are or serve with a delicious chocolate dip.
Method (chocolate dip)
- Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or over the hob using a bain-marie , until melted. If you wanted to temper the chocolate you can do, I have the best tempering chocolate tutorial in my baking book.
- Dip a corner of the cookies into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess to drop back into the dish / pan. Repeat until all the cookies are dipped in chocolate.
- While the chocolate is wet, sprinkle some ground pistachios so it sticks.
- Place into the fridge to set the chocolate.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Store cookies without the chocolate – Store the cookies in an air tight / sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, and in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Store cookies with the chocolate – Store the cookies with the chocolate on in the fridge, and allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying. Make sure they’re stored with some grease proof paper in between to prevent sticking.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
