Pistachio Sandwich Cookies

Don't you just hate it when your muse speaks to you and refuses to be quiet until a vision has been executed? No? What if said vision required you to blanch and peel two cups of pistachios? Yeah. I sort of made this up as I went along and, in hindsight, wish I had tried a denser, shortbread-like base. These are a soft yet chewy cookie with a not-too-sweet buttercream: not unlike whoopie pies. They're delicious, but now I want a pistachio shortbread. Muse, you are a fickle and evil creature.

To make pistachio butter, simply blanch pistachios: boil them for 2-3 minutes, shock them in an ice bath, and proceed to peel the skin off every.single.one. Then, puree these for an extremely long time in a food processor. No need to add sugar or salt, though you could certainly make pistachio paste at this juncture. Two cups of raw nuts (about 10 oz by weight) yielded 1 1/3 cups of butter (1 cup = 250 g), which is perfect for this recipe. Let it cool completely before using to make the cookies and filling.

Makes: 12 sandwiches (24 cookies) Cookies 3/4 cups (187.5g) pistachio butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1/2 c (100g) white sugar

1/4 c (50g) brown sugar

2 oz (56 g) sour cream or Greek yogurt

3/4 c (90g) all purpose flour

1/4 c (32g) bread flour

1/2 c (48g) pistachio flour --> I would grind this more finely and use more next time

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

1/2 t pistachio* or almond extract

Filling 1/2 c (125 g or whatever is left) pistachio butter

1/4 c (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 to 1.5 cup (125-187.5g) icing sugar

(as needed: 1-2 T cashew milk)

1/4 t vanilla

1/8 t pistachio or almond extract

1/8 t salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flours (including pistachio flour), baking soda, and salt. In your stand mixer, cream together the pistachio butter, melted butter, and sugars until smooth. Gradually add the eggs, sour cream, and and extracts, scraping the sides of the bowl with each addition. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined. Scoop onto the baking sheet as rounded mounds (approx 2 tablespoons each), spaced 2-3" apart. Flatten/smooth gently with your fingers. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden on the edges, and transfer to a cooling rack once cool.

For the filling... Well, it's a basic buttercream. Using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and pistachio butter and salt, and gradually add the icing sugar. Adjust the amount of sugar based on your taste and texture preference: the minimum amount will yield a denser, oilier, and nuttier frosting (what I used), whereas you can achieve a fluffier result with the full amount of sugar. As needed, add some cashew milk. Add the extracts toward the end.

* Where can a person find a good pistachio extract, anyway? The least bad I have found thus far is from Beanilla, but it leans much more strongly toward almond. If you like the Jello instant pudding mix sort of flavor, use that or Lorann Oil's Pistachio Nut Flavor Fountain (not the extract - that stuff is terribad).

#recipetesting #sweet #splurge