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Posts Tagged ‘cookies’

Chocolate Biscotti

Chocolate Biscotti

A work colleague once asked me if I order in restaurants the same way that I order coffee.  I thought his comment was pretty funny, especially since the weekend before my husband had said I was a waiter’s worst nightmare.

“What do you mean?” I asked my husband.

“Well, you like to change everything in the dish.  You want to order the steamed fish but have them fry it instead, and have the sauce on the side instead of pouring it over the fish – and if it comes with potatoes, you want rice instead!”  He said.

Surely he was exaggerating!

But I did have to concede to my work colleague that being finicky with my coffee never earned me any brownie points with the baristas.  One day I’m having a cappuccino with one sugar then the next I’m having it with one and a half sugars.  Then I learned that you get more milk with a latte so I switched to that (with one sugar).  Then I went off coffee and started having chai lattes – then soy chai lattes, then I missed my coffees and got back on to the lattes – but I wanted a weak latte, one and a half sugars and chocolate sprinkles on top…. oh and extra creamy.

And then I switched to tea – but that’s a whole different story altogether!

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Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies


This last week has made me reflect on the many happy accidents in my life.  Starting, in fact, nine months before I was born.

I always thought it was cool that my sister and I were the same age for a month during the year.  I liked it when I told people we were sisters, “same age but not twins”. I found it hilarious when they would give us this puzzled look. It only dawned on me one day, when  I was around thirteen or fourteen, my family was having dinner at the house of some friends they had just met.  The lady was introducing her four children.

“The eldest is James, he is sixteen, followed by Natasha, she is twelve.” She said.

“Then this is Raul, he is eight.  Bea, my youngest, is also eight.”  Then the lady patted her youngest daughter’s head and said as she smiled cheekily and said “She’s the accident of the family!”, to everyone’s amusement.

Everyone, except me, as I was shocked.  If Bea and Raul were the same age and Bea was an accident… I started to think about the age gaps between all my other siblings – everyone was around two years apart except for me and my sister.  I felt my face turning red. Could this mean I was an accident too?

It was only after the dinner that I confronted my Mom about this discovery.

“Am I an accident too?” I asked.

This is why my Mom is so fantastic.

“If you were, you’d be the best accident ever!”  she said.

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

Which brings me to these Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies.

Last week I had some friends over who wanted to learn how to make macarons.  I had prepared the almond meal, cocoa powder, icing sugar and caster sugar in little bowls so that all we needed to do was make the meringue and mix.  I pointed to the  almond meal, cocoa powder and icing sugar and told them to mix all of it.  I turned my back to separate the eggs.

“Do you want me to add the sugar?”  My friend asked.

“Yes please.” I told her.

As we started to make the meringue, I asked where the caster sugar was”

“It’s with the almond meal mixture!”  They told me.

“What?  We needed it for the meringue.” I said.

“But I asked you if I should add the sugar.” She said!

I just had to laugh.  Of course I did tell her to add the sugar!  So she added even the caster sugar. Silly silly me!

But that’s okay, because just when I thought that my Trissalicious World’s Best Pistachio cookies couldn’t get any better, I made this with that accidental supply of almond meal and sugar mixture. So here you have the the chocolate and pistachio version, gluten free, easy to make, and terribly delicious.

Serendipity!

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

Trissalicious Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

  • 180 grams Pistachios (raw, shelled)
  • 225 grams almond meal
  • 120 grams caster sugar
  • 125 grams icing sugar
  • 30 grams dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 75 grams eggwhites (from around 2 to 3 eggs)
  1. Chop the pistachios roughly and set aside.
  2. In a bowl place the almond meal, sugars and egg whites. Mix well until you form a paste.
  3. Scoop the cookie batter and form into logs around 5 cm long, (at this point, if you find the batter too sticky add a little bit more almond meal to the paste) then roll them in the pistachios.
  4. Place them in a baking sheet, around 2 cm apart and bake for around 13 minutes at 150c (fan forced).
  5. Update on recipe: Dust with icing sugar when cool.

 

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Italian Pistachio Cookies

Trissalicious Pistachio Cookies

I first tasted pistachio cookies in Italy, about  two years ago.  My husband and I were searching for Il Gelato di San Crispino that was supposed to serve Rome’s best gelato when we chanced upon a little bakery selling these bright green chewy balls of pistachio cookies that were called Bocconcini al Pistacchio di Bronte.  The gelato store was set aside for another day.  Instead, we bought two cookies each (At 3.80 EURO each they were expensive!) and went to Sant’ Eustachio for a caffe and devoured the little gluten-free Italian pistachio cookies.

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Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries and Pistachios

Here’s a confession – I never go Christmas shopping.  Ever.  I do always have good intentions to buy gifts early, wrap them nicely and write a sweet card wishing everyone the best for the Holiday Season… but it never happens.  Usually, my sister will shop for family and friends.  She is ultra organized, actually shops throughout the year places the gifts in a large box  so that come December everyone has a very nice gift from her… and usually from me too as I always ask her to “add my name” to the card she writes… Sometimes, if it’s someone she doesn’t know, at the last minute I’ve been known to panic shop, tell people “close your eyes and put your hands out” and then place an unwrapped gift in their hands.  It’s a bad habit which I intend to break this year.

So, to kick off the Christmas season, I’ve decided to introduce a series called “All They Want For Christmas!”.  The intention is to come up with food ideas for Christmas gifts that I think friends and family would want.

The first recipe in the series I call the Practically Perfect Chocolate Christmas Cookie – it’s a chocolate cookie made with dark lindt chocolate, studded with fruit and nut, in this case, cranberries and pistachios – the two of which I associate with the holiday season.  These cookies are crisp on the outside but maintain that fudge like centre – just the way a perfect cookie should be!

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Recipe (makes 15 pieces)

  • 125 grams lindt chocolate, 70% cocoa, chopped
  • 75 grams flour
  • 30 grams dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 50 grams butter
  • 120 grams brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 40 grams unsalted pistachios
  • 40 grams dried cranberries
  1. Melt the chocolate by placing it in a microwave safe bowl and heating the chocolate for around 45 seconds at 15 second intervals.  Allow to cool slightly.
  2. In the meantime, cream the sugar and the butter until pale and then add the egg.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, a third at a time.
  5. Next, add the melted chocolate and mix well.
  6. Fold in the cranberries and pistachios and place in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
  7. Preheat the oven to 160c (fan forced) and bake the cookies in batches for around 15 minutes.  Half way through the baking process, remove the cookies from the oven and press them to flatten slightly with a spatula and then return them to the oven.
  8. Allow to cool.

Note: The cookies will last for 3 days in an airtight container.

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Package in a paper box or glass jar with a festive ribbon

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