Salted Pistachio Shortbread
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¾cup/95 grams shelled, raw pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts
- ⅓cup/40 grams confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting (optional)
- ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick)
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾cups/95 grams all-purpose flour
- Nonstick spray or softened butter, for greasing
- Flaky salt
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2
Process pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Remove 2 tablespoons and set aside.
- Step 3
Add confectioners’ sugar, butter and salt and pulse until well combined. Add flour and process until a slightly sticky dough forms (if your food processor is having trouble here, just dump dough out onto a counter or a bowl and mix by hand until no dry spots remain).
- Step 4
Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan or tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick spray or softened butter and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
- Step 5
Press dough into the pan into an even layer (you can use your hands, or use the bottom of a measuring cup to press dough into an even layer). Dust with confectioners’ sugar and sprinkle with reserved 2 tablespoons ground pistachios and flaky salt.
- Step 6
Bake until cookie is just golden around the edges and dough is baked through, 17 to 22 minutes.
- Step 7
Once cookie is out of the oven, remove from springform or tart pan. Dust with more confectioners’ sugar, if you like. Before it cools, slice cookie into 24 thin wedges (start by cutting the circle into quarters, then slice each quarter in half, then each half into thirds to get nice, thin triangles.
- Step 8
Let cookies cool completely before transferring them (they will be soft and easily broken if moved before cooled).
- Cookies can be made 2 days ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container at room temperature. These can also be rolled into balls or crescents and baked like a traditional Mexican wedding cookie, if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Dispatches from the low-tech front: Total success! Ground the pistachios using a combination of mortar and pestle & pounding them with a hammer inside a plastic bag. Mixed batter using two forks/hands, baked on a cookie sheet with foil. Later, I easily pulled the triangles apart, and they were amazing! Crunchy and buttery and just sweet enough. Moral: do not let the lack of a food processor, false-bottomed tart pan, or other ephemera get in the way of your shortbread dreams. Happy holidays!
What size springform pan?
I am going to attempt a low-tech version of this (don't have a food processor either, and although I do own a blender, cleaning it is the thief of joy), and will report back.
I rolled them out in 1 tbsp balls and baked for 13 min. Came out delicious!
Made as written except for adding the flaky salt. I just can't get behind the salt craze in sweet things. This was phenomenal. Amazing buttery taste, nutty and crumbly.
I added a tablespoon of sumac to the dough. Then i made a glaze for the top of the cookies with powdered sugar and a little bit of orange juice and whole milk. I spread the glaze on top and sprinkled with a generous amount of sumac and these were perfect!