Chocolate Pistachio Cookie Cups

These Chocolate Pistachio Cookie Cups are perfectly bite-sized treats that balance rich chocolate cookies with nutty pistachio cream cheese frosting. They’re fun to make, beautiful to serve, and a little bit indulgent, perfect for special gatherings.

This is what you can expect from this recipe: a crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-in-the-middle chocolate sugar cookie baked into a little cup and filled with a creamy, dreamy pistachio frosting. They’re like a cross between a cookie and a cupcake, with plenty of flavor and texture contrast.

If you’ve made my Peanut Butter Ganache Cookie Cups before, you’ll love this elegant pistachio twist!

Why you’ll love these cookie cups

• Elegant yet easy. These mini treats look fancy, but they’re surprisingly simple to make.
• Perfect flavor balance. Dark chocolate cookies pair beautifully with nutty pistachio and tangy cream cheese.
• Bite-sized indulgence. Just enough richness to satisfy your sweet tooth, but perfectly portion controlled.
• All the textures. Crispy, chewy sugar cookies. Silky-smooth frosting. Crunchy chopped pistachios. Chunks of chocolate and paper-thin flakes of sea salt. Daaang.
• Customizable. Make these cookie cups your own by swapping out the frosting and/or toppings! You’ll find suggestions below in the “Variations & substitutions” section.

How to make chocolate pistachio cookie cups

You can find full recipe details in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick overview on how to make this recipe:

1. Make the dough. Cream butter, brown sugar, and molasses then beat in egg and vanilla. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, natural cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) and mix into the wet ingredients until just combined.
2. Shape & bake. Roll dough into small balls, coat in sugar, and place in a mini muffin tin. Bake until just set.
3. Indent the cookies. Right out of the oven, use a small glass or shot glass to press a well into the center of each cookie, creating the “cup.”
4. Make the frosting. While the cookies cool, cream together butter and cream cheese with powdered sugar and pistachio butter until silky-smooth.
5. Fill & decorate. Once cooled, pipe or spoon pistachio cream cheese frosting into each cup. Garnish with chopped pistachios, chocolate, and sea salt for a pretty finish.

Pro baking tips for perfect chocolate cookie cups

Use natural cocoa powder. This recipe uses baking soda as its leavener, which needs acidity to react properly and create the perfect texture. Natural cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder) is acidic, so it’s the right choice here. Dutch-process cocoa is less acidic and won’t give the same rise or flavor balance.

Sift the cocoa powder & powdered sugar. Cocoa can clump easily. Any time I use cocoa powder in my dessert recipes, I always sift it with the other dry ingredients. Same goes for powdered sugar – I highly recommend sifting it before adding it to your cream cheese frosting.

Indent while warm. Don’t wait too long to press the cups into shape! Do it as soon as they come out of the oven while the cookies are still soft and pliable.

Give the cream cheese plenty of time to soften. The secret to a lump-free cream cheese frosting is super soft cream cheese. I always beat it for a minute or two before I add the butter or any other ingredients.

Add the toppings! Finely chopped pistachios, dark chocolate flakes, and sea salt are optional but highly recommended. Sprinkling a small amount of these ingredients on top of these cookie cups will add so much extra flavor and texture. Plus, it gives them that “finished” touch that makes them look even more impressive.

Choosing the best pistachio butter

The pistachio cream cheese frosting is only as good as the pistachio butter you use. Look for pistachio butter made from 100% pistachios with no added oils, sugar, or flavorings. My favorite is by Chio, which makes a beautifully green, stone-ground pistachio butter with nothing added. You’ll taste the difference! (This is not an ad, they’re just good people who make a good product!)

If you’re using a pistachio butter with added sugars and/or oils, it may affect the frosting flavor and texture. Start with a little less powdered sugar in the frosting, and taste to see if you want more sweetness.

Variations & substitutions

• Try other nut butters. Swap pistachio butter for almond, cashew, or hazelnut butter in the frosting for a completely different flavor profile. Adjust sweetness as needed.
• Double the chocolate. Try these cookie cups filled with chocolate ganache (like this Salted Dark Chocolate Ganache) for a double chocolate version.
• Give them a festive twist. Top with edible gold dust or holiday sprinkles for a seasonal look.
• Drizzle with chocolate. Want to boost the chocolate flavor? Drizzle the cookie cups with melted dark chocolate.
• Top with cacao nibs. A sprinkle of cacao nibs is another lovely topping choice.
• Alternative frosting choices: Dark Chocolate Earl Grey Frosting, Raspberry Buttercream, Vanilla Coffee Whipped Cream, and Salted Caramel Buttercream would all be delicious piped into these little chocolate cookie cups!

Storage

Store filled cookie cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’d like to make them ahead, you can bake the cookie cups and store them (unfilled) at room temperature for up to 2 days, then fill right before serving. These chocolate cookie cups are best served at room temperature so the pistachio cream cheese frosting is nice and soft.