Pistachio Cookies

These are super delicious. Worth the extra work and they would be great for a party!

  • 1/2 cup sugar


  • 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

  • 4 ounces salted shelled pistachios (about 1 cup), ground to a paste in a food processor

  • 1 large egg white

  • 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • Pinch of coarse salt

  • 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

  • For the garnish: slivered, unsalted, shelled pistachios

    1. Make filling: Bring 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved; set aside.
    2. Put egg yolks in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk by hand until yolks are warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Fit mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix yolks on medium speed; pour in sugar syrup. Raise speed to high; mix until mixture is cool and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; drizzle in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
    3. Make cookies: Put pistachio paste and rest of sugar in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in the egg white, vanilla, and salt.
    4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a small (about 1/4 inch) plain round tip (such as Ateco #10). Pipe 1-inch rounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing about 1 inch apart.
    5. Bake cookies until firm and golden around edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer on parchment to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
    6. Place cookies, bottom sides up, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Spread 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chocolate filling on bottom of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies. Freeze 1 hour.
    7. Make glaze: Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add shortening; stir until combined. Let cool, stirring, until mixture is lukewarm.
    8. Using a chocolate fork or regular fork, hold 1 cookie at a time above bowl of chocolate glaze. Spoon glaze over cookie, letting excess drip back into bowl. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Garnish with slivered pistachios. Refrigerate until set, 5 minutes. Cookies can be refrigerated in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days.



     

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    Oscar

    I haven't done anything crafty today, plus it's my birthday so i'm taking the day off!
    I will however share a pic of my dog, Oscar.
    Don't overload on the cuteness.

    It was a struggle to get him to pose, but once he knew what was at stake (bacon treats) he was willing to comply.

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    Grim Reaper!

    So Halloween is coming up and I saw one of these guys while out shopping yesterday. I thought I'd try my hand at making one and I think it turned out well.

    It was fun and fairly easy. Here's how to make one.
    You will need: a plastic skull, a wire clothes hanger, some black cloth, a small amount of glue and string.

    Make two small holes at the base of the skull so that the hanger can go straight through. You only need about half the length of the hanger, snip it off and thread it through the skull. Now make a twist directly below the skull and shape the shouders and arms.

    Now cut two squares in the cloth, one bigger than the other. Since you're going to shred the bottom you don't have to be exact. Cut a slit in the middle of the squares and dress your skull with the larger square going on first.

    Cut a long thin strip of cloth and glue the middle to the top of the skull. Let it overhang the face a bit to look like a hood. Tie a string to the wire under the neck and hang up so you can easily shred the bottom of all your cloth. And then you're done.
    Hope you have fun with it!

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    Knitting : Green Summer Wrap

        This is a wrap/stole that I knitted last summer. I used lightweight fibers in a medium weight yarn, mostly cotton and bamboo. I ordered the yarn as a summer sampler in green from Elann.com, which is a great place to get cheap yarn.

         The pattern is super simple, it looks more complicated than it is. It is a multiple of 6 stitches, plus 3 stitches on either end. These three are really just half of the 6-repeat.
    Row 1 (RS): Knit.
    Row 2: k3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
    Row 3: k3, *(k2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times. Repeat from * to last 3 sts; k3.
    Row 4: Knit.
    Make it as wide and long as you want it and switch colors every 4 row repeat to get the stripes, or just make it solid.
    This is great for tv knitting, lol. Enjoy!

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    Hello to all!


    This blog is going to be about anything and everything crafty. I have a brand new sewing machine so hopefully soon I'll have some cool projects to post about. However since I don't have anything yet, I'll just show you my new favorite coffee cup. :) Check out these mugshots!

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