Pistachio Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Vegan and gluten-free sugar cookies dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with pistachios and sea salt. Perfect for healthy holiday baking!

The Christmas countdown is officially on, with only *three* more sleeps until Christmas Day.

Do you have any creative Christmas plans? 

Most of my social plans this year are virtual, aside from spending time with M on Christmas Day. 

But the one thing I refuse to do any differently is the holiday baking.

With that in mind, I have *one* more Christmas cookie post for you to add to your holiday baking list. 

These Pistachio Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies are the cutest cut outs you’ve seen all year! 

Vegan and gluten-free sugar cookies dunked in dark chocolate and sprinkled with pistachios and sea salt.

They’re basically all I want for Christmas!

Here’s what you need:

SUGAR COOKIES:

• vegan butter 
• organic cane sugar
• coconut sugar 
• unsweetened apple sauce
• gluten-free all purpose flour
• arrowroot powder or cornstarch 
• baking powder
• Himalayan sea salt
• unsweetened almond milk

That’s it!

These cookies take a little longer to make than most previously posted on Flora & Vino but they’re worth it! 

You’ll also see ingredients like vegan butter and cane sugar, which don’t *normally* make it to the F&V ingredient list. 

However, it’s the holidays (the catch all excuse for anything and everything this time of year), and these cookies just didn’t taste the same when using my typical subs for oil and sugar. 

However, these cookies are still totally vegan and gluten-free, which in itself is kind of extraordinary– yeah?

So, now that you’re digging the concept of these healthier sugar cookies, let’s get baking. 

I recommend using an electric hand mixer for this recipe to cream the butter and sugar together. 

First, cream the vegan butter, then add in the cane sugar, coconut sugar, and unsweetened apple sauce and beat for about 1 minute.

Next, sift in the gluten-free all-purpose flour, cornstarch, Himalayan sea salt, and baking powder.

Stir the mixture until just incorporated, being careful not to over mix!

Add in the almond milk and mix until you have a soft fluffy  dough, adding a bit more flour if it’s too wet. 

Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes before baking to allow it to firm up!

Once the dough has chilled, it’s time to prep your bake space. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F  and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

At this point you can decide on the shape of your cookies.

Option 1: Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of the chilled dough and roll them into uniform balls for a shortcut sugar cookie. 

Option 2: Roll out the dough in a flat, thin well-floured slab and cut into festive shapes!

Pro tip: Freeze the shapes on the baking sheet for ~10 minutes before baking for indestructible cookies! 

If you went with shapes, remove them from the freezer and arrange them ~2 inches apart to allow for spreading.

If you rolled the dough into balls, gently smash down the balls to form small cookie discs for baking.

Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes, watching shapes closely to ensure they don’t burn.

Your Dark Chocolate Pistachio Sugar Cookies are done when they’re golden brown underneath and around the edges.

Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Then it’s time to decorate!

Meanwhile, prepare your dark chocolate pistachio topping. 

Here’s what you need:

• Hu Kitchen Gems
• pistachios, crushed 
• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

That’s it!

Melt the Hu Kitchen Gems on the stovetop over medium low until the chocolate is completely liquified.

This dark chocolate is the absolute best for melting and decorating these sugar cookies!

I like to transfer the liquid chocolate to a small, heat safe bowl for easy cookie dipping.

Prepare the crushed pistachios and sea salt in separate bowls for sprinkling. 

Carefully dunk the cooled cookies in the melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed pistachios and sea salt.

Allow the chocolate to harden completely before enjoying!

Enjoy these Pistachio Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies as a fun Christmas cookie. 

You’ll love this variation with dark chocolate and nuts instead of the typical frosting and sprinkles! 

They’re so much fun to make and share with kids, family, and friends. 

I love mine with a glass of almond milk or hot chocolate for a festive holiday dessert.  

Store leftover cookies covered at room temperature for up to a few days and freeze for long term storage.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

If you make these Pistachio Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies, let me know!

Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.

Come say hi on Instagram and use #floraandvino!

Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later!

For more healthy holiday baking, try my SunButter Sugar Cookies,Vegan Shortbread Cookies and SunButter Sugar Cookies!

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XO Lauren

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This post is brought to you by Hu Kitchen, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Photography by Hot Pan Kitchen