Pistachio Winks Recipes

PISTACHIO THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour and dry pudding mix; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips., Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in nuts. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets; make a thumbprint in center of cookie. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool. , For filling, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spoon into center of cooled cookies. , For glaze, if desired, melt chocolate chips and shortening; drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.

PISTACHIO WINKS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. It'll take bout 90 seconds on high.
• Pour melted butter into a mixing bowl and add sugar. Mix well and let cool to room temperature.
• Mix in beaten eggs. Add the molasses and mix well.
• Add salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir everything together and then mix in the finely chopped pistachios.
• Add the flour in 1 cup increments, mixing after each addition.
• Form the dough into 1" balls with your fingers and place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam (12 balls per cookie sheet).
• Spray the flat bottom of a water glass with Pam. Dip the glass in a bowl of sugar and flatten the balls on the cookie sheet. Dip the glass into sugar after each ball you flatten.
• Place a quarter cherry in the center of each cookie. Press the cherry down with the tip of your finger.
• Bake the cookies at 350 degreees for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies set up on the sheet for 1 mintues and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

PISTACHIO PINWHEELS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Beat 6 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg and the vanilla (don?t worry if the mixture looks separated). Reduce the mixer speed to low; mix in the flour mixture until combined. Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap; shape into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Pulse the pistachios and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Mix in the remaining egg, 2 tablespoons butter, the almond extract, pinch of salt and food coloring. Process, scraping the bowl occasionally, until a thick paste forms. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough into a 10-by-11-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread the pistachio filling over the dough almost all the way to the edges. Starting with a short side, roll up the dough into a tight spiral. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, reshaping the log after 1 hour, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice the log into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the rounds 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared pans.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are firm and light golden around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

PISTACHIO PINWHEELS

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they're very finely ground but not yet forming a paste, about 25 second-long pulses. Transfer the ground pistachios to a small bowl and set aside.
• To the same food processor (no need to wash after grinding the pistachios), add the butter and confectioners' sugar, and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the yolks and almond extract, and process until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the flour and salt, and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until you have a stiff, uniform dough.
• Transfer two-thirds of the dough (about 10 ounces/240 grams) to a medium bowl and add the almond flour to the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to work the almond flour into the dough until you have a uniform mixture.
• Scrape the almond dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Pat it down with your hands into a thinner layer, then place a piece of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough between the sheets of parchment into a slab measuring about 12-by-8 inches and ¼-inch thick. (Uncover the dough and use a small offset spatula to shape the dough into a rectangle if necessary.) Slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and refrigerate the slab until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the ground pistachios to the food processor with the remaining dough and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly blended and the dough has taken on a green color, about 7 pulses. Set aside at room temperature while the almond dough chills.
• Remove the almond dough from the refrigerator and plop tablespoon-size pieces of the pistachio dough across the surface of the slab. Use the offset spatula to spread the pistachio dough across the length of the slab in an even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the longer sides. Starting at one of the longer sides and using the parchment paper to help you, roll the dough into a tight spiraled log. Wrap the log in parchment paper and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until the dough is very firm, at least 1 hour.
• When ready to bake, arrange two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Sprinkle the demerara sugar across a cutting board. Remove the log from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll across the board in the sugar, pressing down very firmly as you roll so the sugar adheres. Continue to roll and press until the entire log is coated. Using a sharp knife, shave a thin crosswise slice off of each end so you have straight sides with the full spiral exposed. Cut the log in half crosswise, then cut each half in half again to make quarters, and cut each quarter in half again for eighths. (This ensures even, equal slices.) As you cut, roll the pieces on the cutting board to prevent the pinwheels from gaining a flat side and losing their round shape. Cut each piece into 4 equal slices to make 32 cookies.
• Divide the cookies between the two prepared baking sheets and space them evenly. Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks until they are golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheets front to back halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.