If Joyce from Stranger Things Was a Cookie… She’d Be a Dark & Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cream Cookie
A dark and milk chocolate cookie with a pistachio cream center. Rich, soft, and comforting, with a warm, slightly messy middle. Just like Joyce Byers from Stranger Things.
Brown-butter dough, dark and milk chocolate, and frozen pistachio paste. It’s rich and intense. It’s comforting, but also dramatic. You have to control it, or it will take over.
That is Joyce.
She is maternal, warm, loving, and completely incapable of doing anything halfway. She does not worry quietly. She panics loudly. She loves so hard it becomes overwhelming, and she will burn the world down if it means protecting the people she loves.
Ingredients
Dough
¾ cup unsalted butter, browned and slightly cooled
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup molasses sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 cup milk chocolate chunks
½ cup dark chocolate chunks (70–80%)
Flaky salt for topping
If you don’t have molasses sugar:
Use all light brown sugar and add ½ tablespoon molasses.
If you don’t have molasses at all, just use light brown sugar. The cookie will still work. The molasses just adds depth.
Filling
Pistachio cream
How To Make Joyce’s Dark & Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cream Cookie
1. Freeze the pistachio cream
Line a tray or plate with parchment paper. Spoon pistachio cream into teaspoon-sized coins. Freeze until completely solid, at least 1 hour. This step is essential.
2. Brown the butter
Cook the butter until golden and nutty. Pour into a bowl and let it cool slightly. It should be melted but not hot.
3. Mix the sugars and butter
Whisk the brown butter with the light brown sugar, molasses sugar, and granulated sugar until glossy and smooth.
4. Add eggs and vanilla
Mix in the egg and the two egg yolks until fully combined. Add the vanilla and mix again.
5. Add the dry ingredients
Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until a dough forms. Do not overmix.
6. Add the chocolate
Fold in the milk chocolate chunks and dark chocolate chunks. Keep the pieces large.
7. Chill the dough
Refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes. This keeps the cookies thick and helps the pistachio cream stay inside.
8. Stuff and shape
Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F and line a baking tray.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough. Flatten it slightly, place one frozen pistachio cream coin in the center, seal completely, and roll into a ball. Make sure no pistachio cream is exposed.
9. Bake
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should be set, and the centers should still be soft. Pull them before they brown too much.
10. Finish
Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt while the cookies are warm.
Why This Cookie Is Joyce
Joyce is comforting on the outside and intense on the inside. She gives warmth first, panic second, and never stops until everyone is safe.
This cookie looks familiar and nurturing. Brown butter and chocolate make it feel like home. It is the kind of cookie you bake for someone you love, the kind that feels like care.
But inside, there is pistachio cream. Rich, emotional, impossible to fully contain. It melts quickly and pushes outward, just like Joyce’s fear, love, and determination. She holds everything together through sheer will, even when it feels like she might fall apart.
This is not a neat cookie. Chocolate for comfort. Pistachio paste for depth. A soft center that only stays in place because everything around it is trying to protect it.
That is Joyce.
Troubleshooting
· Pistachio cream leaked out
Your pistachio coins were not frozen enough or the dough was not sealed properly. Freeze longer and seal completely.
· Cookies spread too much (fix after baking)
The butter was too warm or the dough was not chilled long enough. Chill longer next time.
Good news you can fix them while they are still hot. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, use a spatula to gently push the edges back in and reshape them into a perfect circle. Do this while the cookies are very warm. Once they cool, they will set in that shape.
· Filling disappeared into the dough
Your pistachio coins were too small. Make thicker coins and freeze solid.
· Not gooey enough inside
Use larger pistachio coins or bake one minute less.