TOASTED PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD
Shortbread is one of the simplest, most rewarding cookies you can make. Striking a perfect balance between sweet and salty, a good shortbread is toasty, crumbly, and feels a bit like a warm hug. The toasted pistachios in this recipe give the shortbread a beautiful smell and savory crunch. Enjoy with tea, coffee, or by themselves.
Total time: 40 minutes
Active time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes
Makes about 20 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup pistachios
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
Flakey sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions:
1.) Preheat oven to 325° F.
2.) In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt and stir briefly to combine.
3.) Chop pistachios into pieces a bit smaller than the size of chocolate chips. In the preheated oven or a toaster oven, toast chopped pistachios for about 4-5 minutes, or until pistachios are fragrant and golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
4.) While pistachios cool, cut butter into small cubes and toss into dry ingredients. Using a fork or pastry cutter, work butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly dough starts to come together.
5.) Add the toasted, cooled pistachios to the bowl and gently distribute, working dough into a crumbly ball. Try to avoid overworking, as we don't want the butter in the dough to get too soft!
6.) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press into a layer roughly 1/3" high. Using the rim of a small juice glass or cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds and transfer to an unlined baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a few flakes of sea salt.
7.) Transfer sheet to the fridge for about 5 minutes, just to allow dough to firm up slightly.
8.) Bake cookies in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until shortbread are golden brown on the edges but still relatively pale across the tops.
9.) Remove from oven and let cool completely before eating; these cookies will be at their best texture when room temperature. They can be stored in tupperware and be kept at room temp for up to a week.