Pistachio Shortbread
Pistachio Shortbread cookies are rich and buttery, perfect with a bowl of ice cream.
I don’t think I have ever cooked anything using pistachios. Growing up in the South with California raised parents, we cooked with walnuts, almonds, and pecans, but never pistachios. I did a little research and discovered that pistachio trees prefer a desert climate and do not do well in humidity. Well, there’s my answer, humidity is ever present in the South. Through our travels in Italy, my husband discovered the refreshing taste of pistachio gelato, it is his favorite. So when I came across this recipe for pistachio cookies, I just had to try them. He offered to shell the pistachios since all I could find were salted shelled ones. He decided it was worth the effort, but found a shelled, un-salted version on Amazon, in case I couldn’t find them in the grocery next time around.
These cookies are amazing. So much so that I am trying to come up with more ways to cook with pistachios. The flavor is so rich without being excessively sweet. A word of warning, if you can’t find the un-shelled ones, they are a bit of work. Also, they are not a beautiful cookie. However, they are perfect with a bowl of Lemon Gelato. Let me know if you have a favorite recipe using pistachios.
Adapted slightly from Bon Appetit May 2013
Pistachio Shortbread
Pistachio Shortbread cookies are rich and buttery, perfect with a bowl of ice cream
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios
- 11/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Pulse pistachios in a food processor until finely ground but not a paste, about 30 seconds. Add flour, sugar, butter, salt and vanilla; pulse until mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. With machine running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water (a crumbly dough should form; do not over process).
- Transfer dough onto plastic wrap and form into a 2 inch log and refrigerate for about an hour, until firm. Take out and slice into 1/4 inch slices and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350º 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks and let cool. Makes about 3 dozen.
- Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit May 2013
Notes
Watch these closely, you don’t want to overcook them.
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