Matcha Pistachio Muffins

Spring is here and so are these big and beautiful Matcha Pistachio Muffins! Once April rolls around, I just can’t help but strictly want to eat green foods, which extends to baked goods. The pistachio muffins I’ve encountered in my life are typically a scary shade of light neon green, either by way of food coloring or a pack of pistachio pudding mix. Do they taste good? Sometimes. But why can’t we have pistachios muffins made with actual pistachios? Pistachios can be on the spendy side, but I promise these muffins are worth the investment! They are tender, moist, chock full of pistachios, and have a touch of matcha for a springy flavor and vibrant color.

The pistachios are incorporated into the muffin as a delightful pistachio sugar. All you do is pulse sugar and pistachios together until it’s fine and sandy. Make sure to save about 2 tbsp of the pistachio sugar for topping the muffins later. The sugar topping caramelizes in the oven and gives the muffins an amazing crunch. Then we add butter, eggs, yogurt, and honey to the pistachio sugar to make a rich and tender batter.

I know that not all pistachio flavored things need to be green, but I like the addition of matcha powder for its natural vibrant color and the flavor pairs so well with the nutty pistachios. A helpful tip for tender and tall muffins is to let the muffin batter rest for at least 20 minutes. After you check on the batter, you’ll notice that’s it’s light and airy, which will translate to light and tender muffins after they bake!

Enjoy the wonderful smells of pistachios, butter, and sugar while they bake!

Matcha Pistachio Muffins

Makes 11 big muffins

220g (1 1/2 cups) ap flour

2 tsp matcha powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

105g (3/4 cup) roasted and unsalted pistachios

200g (1 cup) sugar

113g (8 tbsp) melted butter

260g (1 cup) full-fat yogurt, either european style or greek

2 large eggs

85g (1/4 cup) honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine flour, matcha powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In the bowl of your food processor, combine pistachios and sugar. Pulse until the mixture resembles a fine, sandy texture. Reserve about 2 tbsp of the pistachio sugar for the muffin topping.

3. In a large bowl, mix to combine pistachio sugar and melted butter until smooth. Add yogurt, eggs, honey, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a flexible spatula until fully incorporated and smoothly smooth, avoid overmixing. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. The batter should look light and airy when you scoop it.

4. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Line your muffin tin with liners. I prefer to bake 6 muffins (in a 12 tin muffin tin) at a time, in alternating tins so the muffin tops don’t bake into each other, but if you prefer to bake all the muffins at the same time in the same tin, you can do that. You can also bake two tins at a time if you have room.

5. Fill each tin with about 5 tbsp of batter or until just above the rim of the tin. Sprinkle pistachio sugar over the tops of the muffins. Bake until the muffins are tall and cooked through (test with a toothpick to check for doneness), 16 to 19 minutes. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool. After about 5 minutes, side a small offset spatula or knife under the edge of the muffin tops and then pop the muffins out of the tins. Allow the muffins to full cool on the wire rack and then enjoy.