Bakery-Style Pistachio Muffins Recipe

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Amazing Bakery-style Pistachio Muffins with a tender crumb texture. Sprinkle with cardamom and a splash of rosewater to give the muffin batter the most delicious taste!

pistachio muffins in basket with kitchen towel

If you’re on a pistachio kick, you need these bakery-style muffins in your life.

Okay, truth be told, these muffins only came about after I failed (miserably) to make homemade pistachio butter.

I get if I failed once.

But no.

Shamelessly, I failed about 4 times before I threw in the towel.

What I was left with was coagulated pistachio butter that I suspect had much to do with the powdered milk I insisted on adding to the recipe.

But something good did come from all that chaos.

I used a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of that pistachio butter to make sinfully delicious pistachio muffins. I now lovingly refer to my homemade science experiment as ‘pistachio goup.’ Which, I’ve stashed in the freezer and will be using for all sorts of pistachio-flavored monstrosities because I refuse to toss $42 worth of imported Turkish pistachios.

But I digress.

pistachio muffin broken in half to show crumb texture

Let’s talk about these perfectly domed muffin tops speckled with cardamom and rosewater to enhance that pistachio flavor. And a sugary crystal muffin top that we get by sprinkling them with coarse sugar before they hit the oven to make them look irresistable. We use a whopping 2/3 cup of pistachio butter (storebought, for obvious reasons) to give these muffins a good pistachio punch.

And just to clarify – no we aren’t using an instant pistachio pudding mix in todays pistachio muffin recipe. They’re all simple ingredients, most (if not all) of which you can find at your local grocery store. And yet, I stand by the fact that these are the best pistachio muffins you’ll ever make or have!

Serve them with your morning coffee, for brunch, or as a snack.

Ingredients for bakery-style pistachio muffins
Making Homemade Pisachio Muffins
Bakery-Style Pistachio Muffins (No Pudding Mix) Recipe

Ingredients for bakery-style pistachio muffins

All-purpose flour: is the base of the dry ingredients.
Kosher salt: this one is pretty self explanatory. It gives the muffins a balanced flavor. Typically, I use less salt for recipe that call for butter (I always use salted butter) but in this recipe you’ll need 1/2 teaspoon.
Ground cardamom: ground cardamom gives these muffins the most delicious floral notes.
Baking powder: is the leavening agent we use for this recipe. It will react with the buttermilk causing a production in carbon dioxide which will help the muffins rise and give them that beautiful domed-top.
Pistachio butter: I use a 7 ounce jar by weight. This is the brand that I tpyically use (you’ll need the full jar) but it is sold out frequently. You could use any brand that you like, but something to note is that since we aren’t using any food coloring (or instant pudding mix with food coloring) so the color is highly dependent on the pistachio butter that you use. Turkish pistachios tend to have the most vibrant green color. So if color is important to you, opt for Turkish pistachio butter (unsweetened.) California pistachio butter and all others work just fine, they just yield a different colored final product!
Olive oil: adds moisture to the recipe and is the main source of fat. Feel free to swap this with vegetable oil or any other flavorless oil that you typically have at home.
Cane sugar: In recent years, I’ve switched to using all cane sugar in my baking, granualated sugar does work as a 1 to 1 substitute in most recipe (like this one.)
Eggs: adds structure and stability to the recipe. They also add protein.
Rosewater: Keep in mind that the recipe calls for rosewater – not rose extract. Rose extract is very concentrated, using a whole tablespoon would make the fragrance way too powerful. If you have rose extract, use 1/2 teaspoon instead. You could also swap the rosewater for almond extract (using just 1/2 teaspoon) or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract if you prefer. My favorite brand of rosewater has the most beautiful fragrance.
Buttermilk: we’ll alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients. This helps keeps the batter from curdling.

Making Homemade Pisachio Muffins

Prep first. The first step is to preheat the ovenwhile you make the muffin batter. You’ll also want to line the muffin tins with muffin liners.
Combine the dry ingredients. Now grab two bowls. You’ll need a small one for the dry ingredients and a larger one for the wet ingredients. You can also just use the bowl of your electric mixer for the wet ingredients. Combine the kosher salt, cardamom, baking powder, and all purpose flour. Whisk to help mix thoroughly.
Beat the wet ingredients. Add the pistachio butter, olive oil, sugar, eggs and rosewater and mix using a handmixer. This will help loosen up the pistachio butter.
Make scratch batter. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until *just* combined. Then add the buttermilk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Now, switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and combine the mixture just long enough to mix. Do not overmix or you’ll be left with dry muffins.
Bake in the oven. Distribute the prepared batter into muffin pan. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar to get sugary tops of the muffins when they’re done baking. Bake until you see those perfect domed tops.
Let cool and sere it up. Check with a toothpick to see if the muffins are done. Crumbs are perfect, you just done want wet muffin batter. Let them cool in the pan for serveral minutes before transferring them to a wire rack and letting them cool completely.

FAQs about this recipe

Can these muffins be made gluten-free?

I wouldn’t be able to make any recommendations as I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free mix. However, Bob’s Red Mill does make a 1 to 1 baking mix that would be where I’d start. It’s what I use for my killer gluten-free blueberry muffins.

How do you store leftover muffins?

In an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or up to 5 days in the fridge. Just be sure to zap them in the microwave to revive those moist muffins if they’re cold. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months in a sealed container or freezer-safe bags. Thaw in the fridge overnight and zap to reheat.