Pistachio-Rose Almond Walnut Cookies
Soft, chewy almond and walnut cookies scented with rose water and cardamom, studded with pistachios, and finished with crushed pistachios and rose petals. Paleo, grain-free, and refined-sugar-free, and as pretty as they are delicious.
Yield: About 18 cookies · Active: 20 min · Total: 40 min (including chilling) · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
½ cup walnuts, finely ground
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
1 pasture-raised egg
4 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted (or coconut oil)
⅓ cup maple syrup (or coconut sugar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp food-grade rose water (add a little less at first; it's strong)
½ cup pistachios, roughly chopped
To finish: crushed pistachios and dried edible rose petals
Method
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the almond flour, ground walnuts, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the egg, butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and rose water. Taste a drop and add more rose water if you like; a little goes a long way.
Make the dough. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined, then fold in the chopped pistachios. Chill the dough 15–20 minutes, so it's easier to scoop and the cookies don't spread.
Shape. Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, set them 2 inches apart, and flatten them slightly. Press crushed pistachios and a few rose petals onto the tops.
Bake 10–12 minutes, until golden at the edges but still soft in the center.
Cool 10 minutes on the pan; they firm up as they cool.
Storage: Airtight at room temperature up to 4 days, or frozen up to 3 months.
Nourishment Notes
Pistachios — vitamin B6, copper, and lutein.
Walnuts — ALA omega-3s and polyphenols.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Cardamom — aromatic compounds traditionally used to support digestion.
Rose — polyphenols and a delicate floral fragrance.
Pasture-raised egg — choline and fat-soluble vitamins.
Grass-fed butter — vitamins A and K2.
As a circadian treat, these cookies land best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Almond flour — organic and fresh (keep it in the fridge)
Walnuts and pistachios — organic, kept in the fridge; Sicilian Bronte or California pistachios
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows (or organic, virgin coconut oil)
Maple syrup or coconut sugar — organic Grade A dark maple syrup, or organic coconut sugar
Rose water — food-grade, made by distilling rose petals, with no added alcohol or flavorings; from a Middle Eastern grocer or spice shop
Rose petals — organic, food-grade, and pesticide-free (never from florists)
Cardamom — organic green cardamom pods, freshly ground
Baking soda — aluminum-free
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall