This week I wanted to make something new, so I tried a recipe of pistachio shortbread from my new book L'Art de confectioner des biscuits - Variations sur le thème à la douzaine, by Shelly Kaldunski (Christmas gift from my best friend! Ah, she knows me so well.). These were very easy to make and were quite delicious! In fact I adored them, and so did all that tried, it seems. I actually made another batch of these not a week after the first one, so these are sure to be one of my go-to baked goods!
Ingredients:
315 g all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
250 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, RT
125 g icing sugar
1 large egg white
60-75 g pistachios, roughly chopped *
Green food coloring (optional)
* I write 60-75 g because the original recipe calls for 60 g of pistachios, but I prefer when there is a higher pistachio per cookie ratio. I find that 75 g is perfect for such a case.
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the icing sugar for 2-3 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt.
3. To the butter mixture, add the egg white and beat at low speed to ensure its proper incorporation.
4. Add the mixture of dry ingredients and beat to barely combine. Do not overbeat.
5. Add the pistachios and a small amount of green food coloring, if desired. Mix well.
6. With hands lightly floured, shape the dough into a cylinder of 15 x 2 inches. Wrap the cylinder into plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the cylinder into slices of 1/4 inch. Place the slices of shortbread on two baking sheets covered in parchment paper and bake for 14-17 minutes.
