Caroline's Cooking

Internationally inspired recipes for everyone to enjoy - mostly healthy, always tasty

Oatmeal pistachio cookies

by 32 Comments

These oatmeal pistachio cookies are quick & easy to make, relatively healthy and with a gently chewy crunch. Gluten free, dairy free & no refined sugar. 

oatmeal pistachio cookies

In all honesty, cookies are not something I make all that often. In fact, I hardly ever either make them or buy them, I am more of a fan of muffins, scones and croissant-type things with my coffee or whatever excuse I have for having something sweet.

But my son is getting more in to cookies so it seemed only fair to experiment. I wanted to try making cookies that were tasty but a little different and ideally relatively healthy. These oatmeal pistachio cookies most definitely fit in perfectly.

oatmeal pistachio cookies from overhead

Another confession, while I made these for a virtual cookie exchange, I have never been to a cookie exchange party nor really know what it’s all about. But from what I understand, I’d want to have a bit of a story to my cookie to help them gain a bit of popularity.

I’m not sure I’ve got that here, but hey, they’re still tasty.

oatmeal pistachio cookies up close

I debated about making another German Christmas cookie, linking to my time in Germany as a student, or a shortbread variation to go with my Scottish roots but in the end I went for something altogether different.

These pistachio oatmeal cookies have if anything more of a flavor of the Middle East to them, an area whose cuisine I enjoy a lot and have visited a couple times but I’m afraid other than that, it’s more just I thought they would taste good. And, I’m glad to say, they do.

oatmeal pistachio cookies - cookie in hand

Making healthier cookies

As you may know by now, I prefer to make relatively healthy versions of dishes and baking – particularly since I know my older son will be digging in to them – but I only do so as far as makes sense. Cookies are that bit trickier since they are in all honesty all about sweetness and there’s only so many ways you can vary that in a cookie.

mixing oatmeal pistachio cookies ingredients

I had quite a bit of success with my spiced Vermont maple cookies and like the texture oats gives, so used that as a bit of a base. I wanted a bit more crunch and do love pistachios so they seemed a great choice.

Honey and pistachios go really well together and so this seemed the ideal way to sweeten them and add to the great flavor. Coconut oil also goes well with the other ingredients, as does almond meal/flour, and it means they stay gluten and dairy free.

forming oatmeal pistachio cookies ready to bake

How to make oatmeal pistachio cookies

These oatmeal pistachio cookies are incredibly quick and easy to make, being only six ingredients and the food processor doing the chopping and mixing for you. All you really do is scoop the mixture out and bake them. They gently brown as they bake but don’t really change in shape so don’t worry about them being relatively close on your baking sheet.

See how they come together in the short video:

As I said, these oatmeal pistachio cookies have a bit of a taste of the Middle East to them, with the wonderfully naturally flavorful pistachios and honey giving them a wonderful sweet nuttiness. This is complimented by the oats and almonds to give a nice crunchy cookie that’s pretty healthy too. Giving you the perfect excuse to have another one. Or two… or more. Hey, they are so easy just make another batch and enjoy!

oatmeal pistachio cookies on small plate

Enjoy cookies? Try some other favorites!

Plus see the Holiday ideas for more inspiration, both sweet and savory, perfect for the festive period.

oatmeal pistachio cookies
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Oatmeal pistachio cookies

A simple, delicious combination that makes the perfect little bite.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time20 mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: gluten free cookie, oatmeal cookie, pistachio cookie
Servings: 20 approx
Calories: 105kcal
Author: Caroline's Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pistachios 140g, shelled
  • 1/2 cup ground almonds 60g almond meal
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats 100g, rolled oats, not quick-cook
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil 4tbsp, melted and cooled
  • 1/4 cup honey 4 tbsp
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
  • Pulse the pistachios in the food processor until they are fairly crumb-like - a few lumps are fine you just don't really want large pieces.
  • Add the ground almonds, oats, coconut oil, honey and egg and pulse a few times to mix well.
  • Take tablespoonfuls of the mixture and gently form into squashed balls then lay on a lined baking sheet - note the mixture is fairly sticky and doesn't really change shape when it bakes.
  • Bake for around 15 minutes until gently golden and set. Allow to cool before enjoying.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Plus get some more cookie inspiration:

Remember to pin for later!

These oatmeal pistachio cookies are quick & easy to make, relatively healthy and with a gently chewy crunch. Gluten free, dairy free & no refined sugar. So you have every excuse to make some more! #cookie #glutenfreecookie #pistachiocookie #healthiercookie

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Comments

  1. Skye says


    Thanks for this superb recipe! Just baked a batch. Replaced oil with unsweetened applesauce sauce. Just wondering if its normal that the baked cookies are not super crispy?

    Reply

    • Caroline's Cooking says

      Glad you enjoyed. They are typically more chewy with a bit of a crispness, but using applesauce is definitely going to make a difference – it has a higher water content and doesn’t aid crispness in the way an oil or butter would.

      Reply

    • Caroline's Cooking says

      Thanks, I’m not sure exactly how long they will keep (we got through them pretty quickly!), and some will depend how warm it is where you keep them as they will probably keep better cool, but at least a couple days should work if covered.

      Reply

  4. KC the Kitchen Chopper says

    Pistachios tend to be forgotten. But now that we can buy them shelled they should be used in lots or recipes. This cookie recipes with the oatmeal sounds so tasty. Great way to use those healthful nuts.

    Reply

    • Caroline's Cooking says

      Thanks, KC, they are definitely one of my favorite nuts, such a great flavor and I agree getting them shelled makes them a lot easier to cook with!

      Reply

  7. Liz says

    I am the only one in my family who will eat oatmeal cookies. Don’t think I had better bake these as I think I would eat the whole batch myself. Oatmeal is healthy, yes?

    Reply

    • Caroline's Cooking says

      Indeed, definitely healthy 🙂 Well, maybe make a batch and plan to give some away…but see what happens 🙂 It wouldn’t be so bad if you had them all yourself!

      Reply

  8. Johanne Lamarche says

    Cookie making is not my thing either Caroline but I love the short list of ingredients and wholesomeness of these. thank you for bringing them to FF and sharing all the other cookie links with us.

    Reply

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