Pistachio Spritz Cookies Recipes

MY FAVORITE SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• On low speed, beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined.
• Follow cookie press manufacturer's directions to fit your cookie press with a decorative plate. Scrape some of the dough into your cookie press. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the lined baking sheet and press out the cookies 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If desired, decorate the shaped cookie dough with sprinkles or press a chocolate chip into the center. Note: It's helpful to lightly brush the shaped cookie dough with water before adding sprinkles-this helps them stick.
• If the cookie dough becomes too soft as you work, chill the shaped cookie dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
• Bake until very lightly browned on the edges, 7-9 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate.
• Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

PISTACHIO SPRITZ PINWHEELS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse pistachios with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
• With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter with remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in extracts and food color. Reduce speed to low; add flour, salt, and pistachio mixture and beat until combined. Add 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is smooth and pliable (so it will push through press).
• Divide dough in half; spoon half into a cookie press fitted with a pinwheel design. Press cookies (2 pushes of spritzer), 1 inch apart, onto a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat. Repeat with remaining dough and another lined baking sheet.
• Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are pale golden, about 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Place melted chocolate in a small piping bag fitted with a small writing tip, or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Pipe chocolate in center of each cookie and let set, about 1 hour. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 week.

PISTACHIO COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and confectioners' sugar until blended (mixture will clump together). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract and food coloring. , Combine the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, cream of tarter and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in colored sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

PISTACHIO SPRITZ COOKIES (ALMOND FLOUR)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 °
• 2. Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and extract and mix well. Combine flour, ground almonds and pudding mix and add to creamed mixture.
• 3. Since there are ground nuts you need to use a dye design that has large openings on your spritz gun so the dough will squeeze through onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
• 4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
• 5. Once cooled ice with a powdered sugar glaze. I added green food coloring and topped with sprinkles.

BUTTER SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and the egg and mix to incorporate; don't worry if the mixture seems to separate.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the creamed butter. Mix until combined. Using a cookie press, press the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets. Top with sprinkles of your choice. Bake until firm but not yet browning, 6 to 8 minutes. After a few minutes, move cookies to a rack and cool.

FLOURLESS PISTACHIO COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set 2 racks at the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the pistachios, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, salt, and cardamom. Process until the pistachios are the texture of fine sand and there are no visible pieces of pistachio left, 60 to 90 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Mix with a rubber spatula until a thick, paste-like dough forms.
• Using a medium 1¾-inch (#40) cookie scoop or 2 tablespoons, portion out the dough and roll into balls. (The dough will be sticky, so don't fret if they are not perfect balls.) Place the dough balls at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (8 per sheet).
• Bake both sheets at the same time, swapping the top sheet to the bottom rack and bottom sheet to the top midway through baking, until the tops of the cookies crack and the bottoms are just starting to brown, 12 to 14 minutes. (Don't overbake the cookies. They aren't the kind of cookie that browns that much on the top. It's best to err on the side of underbaking for this recipe.) Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before removing with an offset spatula.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SPRITZ WASHBOARDS WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Make Cookies:
• Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Make Buttery Sugar Cookie dough as directed, with the following exceptions:
• Eliminate the egg.
• Substitute 1 cup confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar and substitute 3/4 teaspoon almond extract for the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Pack the cylinder of the press with some of the dough. Proceed according to the cookie press instructions. Pipe the dough in 3-inch-long strips onto a large ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Use a paring knife to cut the dough free from the cookie press.
• Freeze or chill the cookies on the baking sheet until firm.
• Bake until edges are pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then transfer cookies with a metal spatula to racks to cool.
• Continue to pipe, chill, and bake more spritz washboards in batches with remaining dough (pipe and chill on second sheet while first sheet is baking; cool baking sheets between batches and use fresh parchment paper).
• Decorate Cookies:
• Melt chocolate (see Cooks' Notes) in a deep metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove bowl from the pan. Use a folded towel to tilt the bowl slightly, so that the melted chocolate is deep enough for dipping the cookies.
• Put pistachios in a shallow bowl.
• Set cooling racks on baking sheets.
• Dip cookies, one at a time, in chocolate so that it coats about half the cookie on the diagonal, then scrape off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the cookie against the rim of the bowl.
• Sprinkle the chocolate with some pistachios and arrange the cookies on the racks.
• Let cookies stand at room temperature until the chocolate has set, about 1 hour.