If you’re looking for a showstopper cookie for holidays, bridal showers, or gift baskets, these Pistachio Cream Cheese Fingers are a delightful choice. They combine a tender, creamy texture with a soft green hue from pistachio pudding mix, and finish with an elegant drizzle of chocolate. While they look fancy, they’re surprisingly easy to bake — and always a crowd‐pleaser.
Why These Cookies Are Special
- The addition of cream cheese gives the cookies a melt-in-your-mouth richness and helps keep them soft (not dry or crumbly).
- Using instant pistachio pudding mix gives the dough that subtle nutty flavor and pretty pale green tint without having to grind pistachios yourself.
- The contrast of delicate cookie and dark chocolate drizzle makes them visually appealing on holiday trays.
- They’re not overly sweet, which makes them ideal for pairing with coffee or tea or balancing out richer desserts.
Ingredients
Here is what you’ll need (for the standard large batch as per the original recipe):
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) white (granulated) sugar
- 1 (8 oz / ~226 g) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (about 281 g) all‑purpose flour
- 1 (3 oz / ~85 g) package instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 × 1‑ounce squares semisweet chocolate (for drizzle)
- 1 teaspoon shortening (to help melt the chocolate smoothly)
Instructions
Follow these steps:
- Gather and prep ingredients. Make sure butter and cream cheese are at room temperature so they mix smoothly.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar, and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pistachio pudding mix, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually stir the dry mixture into the creamed mixture until a dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Chilling helps the dough firm up and makes it easier to shape.
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and grease your cookie sheets (or line with parchment).
- Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into small “finger” shapes, about 1½ inches long, and place them spaced on the prepared sheets.
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes (or up to 12) until they are just set and lightly golden underneath. Don’t overbake—these are meant to stay tender.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, melt together the semisweet chocolate and shortening over low heat in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over each cookie (you can use a fork or a small piping bag). Allow the chocolate to set fully before storing.à
Timing & Yield
- Preparation Time: ~30 minutes
- Cooking Time: ~9–12 minutes per batch
- Additional Time (chilling, cooling, drizzling): ~1 hour 3 minutes
- Total Time: ~1 hour 45 minutes
- Serving Size: ~100 cookies
- Yield: ~8 dozen (about 100 “fingers”)
Nutrition Information (per cookie, approximate)
- Calories: 52
- Fat: ~3 g
- Carbohydrates: ~6 g
- Protein: ~1 g
These values are based on breaking the full batch into 100 servings, so smaller or larger cookies will shift the numbers accordingly.
Tips & Variations
- Don’t skip chilling. The dough can be quite soft initially. Chilling ensures easier handling and better shape retention during baking.
- Watch the bake time. Because these are delicate cookies, even a minute too long can make them dry. Pull them when they’re just set and lightly browned underneath.
- Pistachio twist: If you want more pistachio flavor, you could fold in some finely chopped shelled pistachios into the dough (but be careful not to disrupt the texture).
- Chocolate alternatives: Instead of semisweet chocolate, you could use bittersweet or even white chocolate (for a lighter look).
- Storage: Store in an airtight container. Because of the cream cheese, it’s best to eat within a few days—though they still hold well for gifting.
- Gift idea: These cookies are elegant and look great in festive packaging — perfect for holiday cookie exchanges or homemade gifts.
Final Thoughts
Pistachio Cream Cheese Fingers are the kind of cookie that manage to be understated and elegant at the same time. Their pastel green hue, tender texture, and chocolate drizzle make them stand out among holiday cookies, and yet the method is easy enough for most home bakers. Whether you’re baking for a crowd or planning to gift some, these delicate nut‑flavored treats will shine on any cookie tray.