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pistachio lemon snowball cookies on wire rack with pistachio nuts and daisies
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5 from 1 vote

Pistachio Lemon Snowball Cookies

These Pistachio Lemon Snowball Cookies are ultra buttery, tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with pure pistachio flavor and a kiss of lemony glaze. The perfect springtime cookie!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: American, Dessert

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups finely ground pistachios I used roasted and salted
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup instant pistachio pudding mix just the dry powder, do not prepare the pudding

For the Glaze:

  • cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • Zest of half a lemon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners; set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy and smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla extract until combined. Lastly, beat in the ground pistachios, flour, and instant pistachio pudding mix powder until combined. Dough may be crumbly; this is normal and perfectly okay.
  • Using a Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, scoop out Tablespoon-size balls of dough into your hand and roll into a ball. The heat of your palm will help hold the crumbly dough together into a cohesive ball. Place 1" apart on the baking sheets.
  • Bake for 10-13 minutes or until light golden brown and set. Cool completely on the baking sheets as the cookies are very tender and delicate while they cool.
  • After the cookies cool, make your glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until combined. Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and allow the excess to drip off. Return the glazed cookies to a wire rack and allow glaze to set before storing or serving.

Notes

Remember, you're only using instant dry pistachio pudding mix - do not prepare the pudding. 
The perfect consistency for the pistachios is finely ground. It shouldn't be super milled like a flour but not super crunchy or chunky, either. I used roasted and salted shelled pistachios since that was easiest to find.