Pistachio Linzers Recipes

PISTACHIO LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually mix in the flour until combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (Alternatively, you can divide it in half, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before proceeding to the next step.) Roll out the dough until it's 3/16 inch thick. Cut out twelve 3-inch circles using a cookie or biscuit cutter. Use a 3/4- to 1-inch-wide star cookie cutter or smaller circle to cut out a hole in the center. Place the cookies on one of the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the dough and cutouts and punch out 12 more 3-inch circles. Place the circles on the second baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies until set but still pale, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate chips. Stir in the pistachios and a drop of green food coloring, if desired.
• Once the cookies are cool, spread a thick layer of the white chocolate in the center of a cookie and then squish into a sandwich with one of the cutout cookies. Sprinkle the center with additional pistachios and/or sprinkles, if using. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Let stand at room temperature or in the fridge until set, about 5 minutes.

PISTACHIO CREAM CHEESE FINGERS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, dry pudding mix, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Cover dough, and refrigerate for at least one hour for easier handling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into finger shapes, about 1 1/2 inches long. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 9 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set and very lightly browned on bottoms. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• In small saucepan over low heat, melt together chocolate and shortening, stirring constantly until smooth and well blended. Drizzle a small amount of chocolate over each cookie. Allow the chocolate to set before storing.

PISTACHIO LINZER COOKIES WITH ORANGE MARMALADE

Steps:

• In a food processor, finely grind the pistachios. Add the butter and 1 cup sugar and pulse to combine. Pulse in the egg and orange-blossom water.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg, salt and clove. Add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a moist dough. Divide dough in half and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours.
• Place parchment paper on three large baking sheets. (If you don't have three, roll out the dough in smaller batches and keep the rest refrigerated.) Take one disk of dough and roll it out on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 3-inch rounds, and transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Use a 1 1/2-inch cutter to stamp out a hole from the center of half (not all) of the cookies (this will form the "window" for the cookies). Transfer the smaller cookies to a prepared sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gently combine and reroll any scraps. You will have three shapes of cookies on the cookie sheets: rings, large round cookies and small round cookies. Wrap each tray with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake cookies until just golden, about 15 minutes for the small rounds, and 18 to 22 minutes for the larger cookies. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Put the marmalade in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave for 20 seconds and stir, until it's warm and easier to spread. Or heat slowly in a small pot over low heat. Spread each large round cookie with marmalade. Top with a large ring-shaped cookie. Spread half the small round cookies with marmalade and top with the remaining small round cookies. Generously dust all cookies with the rest of the confectioners' sugar.

PISTACHIO LINZERS

Steps:

• Make Classic Sugar Cookie dough; add 3/4 cup ground pistachios with the flour. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2-inch rounds. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool, then sandwich with cherry jam.