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A freshly baked batch of gluten and grain free cherry pistachio cookies.

Cherry Pistachio Cookies {Grain & Gluten Free}

Easy & eggless, these grain and gluten free cherry pistachio cookies are just as delicious to eat as they are impressive to serve to your loved ones and guests.
4 from 3 votes
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Course: Dessert/Holiday
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cherry pistachio cookies, gluten free cherry pistachio cookies, grain free cherry pistachio cookies, pistachio cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 20
Author: Lyn Corinne Liner | A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

For the Grain & Gluten Free Cherry Pistachio Cookies

  • 1 cup shelled salted pistachios
  • ½ cup maraschino cherries
  • 1 ½ cups cassava flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup gluten free baking powder, or ½ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar for grain free)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup softened butter
  • 2 teaspoons gluten free almond extract
  • ½ cup confectioner's sugar, sifted, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Cream softened butter and sugar together in a bowl or mixer bowl until well-combined. 
  • Add all remaining ingredients, except for the confectioner's sugar, to the bowl.
  • Stir until well-combined. (The dough will be very crumbly).
  • Cover with plastic wrap, then place the bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes.
  • Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into half-balls. Since the dough is so crumbly, use your fingers to pack the dough into the back of the scoop. Then, reshape the half-balls shape slightly after releasing the dough, if necessary.
  • Line the cherry pistachio cookies dough in rows about an inch apart on one to two very lightly greased cookie sheets. (I got 36 cookies total and used two small baking sheets)
  • Bake for 18 minutes.
  • Let cool completely on the baking racks for at least 1 hour before serving, but preferably 3 hours or more.
  • Sift powdered sugar lightly over each cookie right before serving.

Notes

Since this is an eggless recipe, the very delicate cassava flour dough needs to cool for a while to maintain its shape while you are actually eating it. If you serve it too soon, the cookies will fall apart in your hand. This makes these cookies perfect for making ahead, as they will best retain their shape after sitting out in a covered dish overnight. 
The confectioner's sugar topping is optional. You might want to serve them this way for the holidays, and without the sugary topping the rest of the year. They taste fantastic either way, and the colors of the cookies are impressive on their own, as well. 
If the dough gets too crumbly while you are using the cookie scoop, just pop it back into the freezer until it's hard enough to work with again. 
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