Pistachio Shortbread with Dark Chocolate

Pistachio Shortbread with Dark Chocolate

This is what the perfect companion to a morning cup of coffee looks like. Flakey, buttery shortbread shaped into a stick for easy dipping. It would be a far cry to call these “wholesome” or “healthy” (especially with your morning coffee), unlike so many recipes on this blog. But they’re beautiful, delicious and just the festive treat I wanted this month. Happy baking season!

Pistachio Shortbread with Dark Chocolate
Pistachio Shortbread with Dark Chocolate

Pistachio Shortbread with Dark Chocolate

Published December 12, 2019 by
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Yields: 24   |    Active Time: 45 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (2 standard sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar, see note - depending on how sweet you want your cookies, plus extra for topping
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios, plus extra for topping
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • 4-6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate of choice

  • Directions:

    1. Beat together butter and sugar using and electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer will both work fine). When creamy, add vanilla and beat in.
    2. Sift together flour and salt. Add to butter mixture. Beat on low until a crumbly mixture forms. Continue to beat, adding 1 teaspoon of water at a time until a dough begins to come together. Dough will still be crumblely, but should stick together when pinched between two fingers.
    3. Roughly chop pistachios, and fold into batter.
    4. Shape dough into a disc, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
    5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment or a sil-pat.
    6. Roll cookie dough with a rolling pin to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 1x3 inch rectangles, and place cut cookies on baking sheet. Optionally, sprinkle with a few pinch of granulated sugar.
    7. Bake cookies for 20-25 minutes, until cookies just begin to turn golden. Place cookies on cooling rack.
    8. When cookies are completely cool, melt chocolate for dipping: place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring between every set to avoid burning. When chocolate is smooth, dip cookies: working one at a time, dip the cookies into the chocolate. Allow the access to run off, and then place on cooling rack. Optionally, sprinkle chocolate with finely chopped pistachios.
    9. Note: The amount of sugar in this recipe can be varied between 1/2 cup and 2/3 cups sugar. Use 1/2 cup if you prefer slightly less sweet desserts, of 2/3 cups for more traditionally sweet cookies.

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    Soft & Chewy Flourless Ginger Tahini Cookies

    Soft & Chewy Ginger Tahini Cookies

    In January, well after holiday season was over, a client sent a big box of Tate's Cookies to the office, where they filled the kitchen counter for half a week. It was the worst (but also the best) kind of way to kick off January. I had been wanted to make a gingery version of these tahini chocolate chip cookies for some time -- I even had made a batch over the holidays that didn't quite work out. Despite it being peak resolution season, that counter full of cookies was just the push I needed to dive back into recipe development. 

    The dream: a chewy, rich, flourless ginger cookie with chunks of crystallized ginger. 

    I knew that tahini would be the perfect base, but my first attempt used far too much molasses and the cookies were WAY too soft. I learned, on that attempt, that coconut sugar really imparts enough molasses-y flavor anyhow, as it's unrefined so still carries all of the minerals that are stripped from refined sugars when molasses is made. 

    Soft & Chewy Ginger Tahini Cookies
    Soft & Chewy Ginger Tahini Cookies

    Tips for making these chewy tahini ginger cookies: 

    • STIR THAT TAHINI. This is in all caps because it's no joke. Tahini separates fast and if your tahini is all oil or all solids you're batter won't work. Last time I published a tahini cookie recipe someone asked about how to best stir tahini, which is a really good question because it's not the easiest to stir. But don't worry! Just scrape the entire jar into a blender, and let it rip. OR, carefully put your immersion blender into your tahini container (this is what I do, but also can foresee what a mess this might make in the wrong circumstances) 

    • Let them cool. Really! I too like hot-out-of-the-oven cookies, but these cookies need a minute to set up. More like 5-10. They'll still be warm, and they'll stay soft for a week at room temperature. BUT, if you try to pick one up while it's still piping hot it will just collapse and melt in your hand (if you can even get it into your hand). 

    Ok, "mom" warnings over. Now, the recipe! 

    Soft & Chewy Ginger Tahini Cookies

    Soft & Chewy Flourless Ginger Tahini Cookies

    Published February 21, 2019 by
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    Yields: 16   |    Active Time: 30 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup tahini (stirred very well - try blending it with your blender if it is separated)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger grated on a microplane
  • Optional: 1/3 cup ginger chips (like this - affiliate link) or finely chopped crystallized ginger

  • Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Whisk briefly.
    3. Add tahini, vanilla, egg, and fresh ginger to bowl, and use a spatula to stir until a stiff, sticky batter forms.
    4. Optional: place bowl of batter in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow dough to stiffen a bit more.
    5. Using your hands, roll dough into spheres by the heaping tablespoonful. Place spheres at least 2 inches apart of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatted slightly with your fingers.
    6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies have spread and are golden. Cookies will still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool at least 10 minutes before attempting to move them to a cooling wrack or a plate.

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    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites (With Video)

    This is an older recipe from Foraged Dish that I wanted to spruce up with new photos and a video. These energy bites are so darn delicious — they’ve been in my snack draw at work and I SO look forward to snack time each day! 

    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

    Last week I went on a hike in the Front Range with nothing in my bag but my camera, my phone, and a ziplock stocked with these Chocolate Chip Energy Bites. I thought I had my car key too, until 30 minutes in when — oh no! - I noticed the pocket where I keep my key was open. Open and empty. 

    I immediately turned on my heels and spent the whole hike downhill with my head turned down, eyes constantly scanning the trail. I tried to soothe my inner chatter box, which, by the time I made it back down to the trailhead with no sign of my keys in sight, was freaking out.  In the end, I had to call for a ride to go get a spare key (thanks, Dad!). 

    But I digress. Casualties of hiking alone are not what this post is about! This post is about the snack I had with me at the time, Chocolate Chip Energy Bites! (The whole hike I kept thinking, well at least if I have to wait a while, I have good snacks…)

    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

    These energy bites call for only six ingredients and they just go into your food processor and you roll them up. That’s it!  Why macadamias and cashews? Macadamia nuts are extra buttery, which lends very well to this recipe, which taste a lot like a healthy version of cookie dough! At the same time, cashews are a bit starchier than most nuts, and their sweet flavor also gives these bites a bit of a “cookie dough” flavor. 

    Mini chocolate chips are best in this recipe because they distribute into each energy bite well. Each bite has a bit of chocolate and a bit of nut mixture, which sticks everything together. 

    Happy hiking! Take these with you — and don’t lose track of those keys!! 

    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

    Published January 15, 2018 by
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    Yield: 12   |    Active Time: 20 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup dates, pitted
  • 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 cup cashew pieces
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

  • Directions:

    1. Add dates, macadamia nuts, cashews, salt, and honey to bowl of food processor. Secure lid on food processor and run until the nuts are ground into a corse meal that begins to clump.
    2. Add mini chocolate chips to food processor and pulse, 2-3 times, just until chocolate is evenly distributed.
    3. Scoop a heaping tablespoonful of the mixture into your hands and roll into a ball. Repeat until all of the mixture is used.
    4. Enjoy immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

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