Talk About an Amazing Secret Ingredient!
How would you like to serve up a treat like none other this holiday season? If so, have I got an idea for you!
Ever heard of pistachio cream? I found it by accident when I was shopping for vanilla paste. There it was, these pretty jars of green stuff sitting next to my beloved vanilla paste.
It’s on the pricey side, ranging from $13 to $26 dollars per jar, depending on the size. But since a little goes a long way, and since I intend to use it only at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, I decided to splurge.
With the nasty talk about money out of the way, now let’s talk move on to what this heavenly stuff is and what you do with it. It is very sweet, definitely closer in taste to Nutella® than peanut butter. It’s an Italian sweet cream or paste, often made of about 50% pulverized pistachio paste, milk, butter, sugar, and sometimes white chocolate. Some recipes use egg yolks and vanilla to make something closer to a pastry cream.
According to the blog, INSIDE THE RUSTIC KITCHEN (www.insidetherustickitchen.com), boiling and then blending pistachios in a food processor or blender reduces them to a creamy paste quickly and easily. However, unlike Nutella®, this homemade product is not shelf-stable and would need to be refrigerated and used within a couple weeks.
The recommendation is to use it as one would Nutella: spreading it on toast or bread, using it in baked goods, or eating it with a spoon (well of course!).
It’s so pretty piped atop cupcakes. And adding a little buttercream frosting to it makes it a nice filling for cream puffs. Thumbprint cookies look beautiful and taste scrumptious with it (instead of the usual fruit jam).
Other yummy uses include adding it to milkshakes, oatmeal, vanilla ice cream, tapioca pudding, and even hot cocoa. It’s a truly versatile spread whose uses are only limited to our imagination.
To get you started this amazing secret ingredient, here’s a recipe for the above-mentioned thumbprint cookie (from www.loveandoliveoil.com). If you love pistachio gelato, you’ll love these delightful little cookies, with a rich chocolate shortbread and a center of luxurious pistachio cream. Dare to swap out the jam for pistachio cream and get set for rave reviews!
Chocolate Pistachio Cream Thumbprints
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk reserve the white if you will be rolling dough in nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pistachio extract optional
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pistachio nuts optional, for rolling (this is enough to coat half the cookies, if you want to roll all of them, use a full cup)
PISTACHIO CREAM FILLING
1.5 ounces white chocolate chopped
3 tablespoons pistachio butter OR cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar sifted
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon pistachio extract optional
1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a light or medium-colored heavy-weight baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and pistachio extract.
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly distributed. Add to mixing bowl with butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just incorporated and mixture comes together into a stiff dough. If your dough seems too crumbly, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of milk as needed to bring it together, however know your cookies might spread a bit more as a result.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet.
5. For plain cookies, flatten balls slightly with your thumb or the back of a round 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, leaving an indentation in the center. You don't want to press all the way down, just enough to form an indentation without the dough around it cracking. Dip the back of your measuring spoon in flour first so it doesn't stick.
6. For nut-coated cookies, lightly dip the ball of dough into reserved egg white, then roll between your palms until it's thinly coated with egg white. Roll in chopped pistachios until evenly covered, then place on baking sheet, then press with your thumb or measuring spoon to indent.
7. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set and slightly puffed and edges are slightly darker in color. Remove baking sheet from oven.
8. While the cookies are still warm, redefine the indentations with the same measuring spoon you used initially. They will have puffed a bit while baking, so doing this gives you room for your filling.
9. While the cookies are cooling, make your filling. Place white chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Warm in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
10. Stir in pistachio butter, powdered sugar, sea salt, pistachio extract and vanilla powder until smooth.
11. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the center of each cookie, taking care not to overflow the thumbprint (you might need slightly more or less filling per cookie depending on the size of your indentations).
12. Let cool at room temperature for about 2 hours until set, or speed up the process by refrigerating the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes until centers are no longer shiny.
13. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
2. Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and pistachio extract.
3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly distributed. Add to mixing bowl with butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just incorporated and mixture comes together into a stiff dough. If your dough seems too crumbly, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of milk as needed to bring it together, however know your cookies might spread a bit more as a result.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet.
5. For plain cookies, flatten balls slightly with your thumb or the back of a round 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, leaving an indentation in the center. You don't want to press all the way down, just enough to form an indentation without the dough around it cracking. Dip the back of your measuring spoon in flour first so it doesn't stick.
6. For nut-coated cookies, lightly dip the ball of dough into reserved egg white, then roll between your palms until it's thinly coated with egg white. Roll in chopped pistachios until evenly covered, then place on baking sheet, then press with your thumb or measuring spoon to indent.
7. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set and slightly puffed and edges are slightly darker in color. Remove baking sheet from oven.
8. While the cookies are still warm, redefine the indentations with the same measuring spoon you used initially. They will have puffed a bit while baking, so doing this gives you room for your filling.
9. While the cookies are cooling, make your filling. Place white chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Warm in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
10. Stir in pistachio butter, powdered sugar, sea salt, pistachio extract and vanilla powder until smooth.
11. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the center of each cookie, taking care not to overflow the thumbprint (you might need slightly more or less filling per cookie depending on the size of your indentations).
12. Let cool at room temperature for about 2 hours until set, or speed up the process by refrigerating the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes until centers are no longer shiny.
13. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
Sources:
- www.italiamy.com
- www.thetakeout.com
- www.loveandoliveoil.com
