pistachio cookies three ways

Living where I do in London there are numerous small shops selling beautiful looking and delicious tasting baklava. This has undoubtedly been the influence behind my latest recipe offering. The flavours of pistachio, cardamon and honey are a perfect combination and come together in a fragrant, elegant and crisp biscuit. The dough is fairly forgiving and you can shape it however you like.You should also feel free to experiment with the fillings or leave them unfilled so that you can dunk them in your tea. It will be a great biscuit however you decide to make them. Below I've included recipes for both a honey and orange buttercream and a chocolate ganache filling.

Biscuit Ingredients
375g plain flour
250g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter at room temperature
100g shelled pistachio nuts (set a few to the side if you want to use them for decoration)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 medium egg
Generous pinch of salt

1. Put the pistachios and sugar in the food processor and pulse until finely ground and resembling fine breadcrumbs. 
2. In a bowl beat the butter with an electric whisk until soft then add the egg and beat for a further 30 seconds or so.
3. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until you have a dough. You may find it easier to do this with your hands. 
4. Form the dough into a 40cm log and wrap in cling film. Leave to rest in the fridge for around an hour. 
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. 
6. Unwrap the dough and cut off discs about 1/2cm thick. You can alternatively roll the dough out on to a lightly floured surface Place on the baking sheet, place a halved pistachio in the centre of biscuit if you wish and then bake for around 15 minutes or until just golden on the edges. 
7. Once cooked allow to firm up on the baking sheet before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack. When the biscuits are completely cool you can fill them with one of the options below or eat them as they are. Enjoy. 

Honey and Orange Buttercream

100g butter at room temperature

400g icing sugar

3-4 tbsp honey

finely grated zest of half an orange

couple of tablespoons of cream or milk

1.  Using an electric whisk, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy then bit by bit sift in the icing sugar. 
2. Once the sugar and butter are thoroughly combined add the honey and zest and beat for a few seconds. If the icing is a bit thick add a couple of tablespoons of milk and cream and beat in until you have a smooth consistency.

Chocolate Ganache

100g dark chocolate broken into small pieces

100ml double cream

pinch of salt (optional)

1. Heat the cream in a saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat just before it reaches boiling point then pour over the chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl.
2. Stir the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the salt is wanted then set the mixture to one side to cool. 
3. Once the mixture has cooled down, beat it with an electric whisk until it thickens up. 

dark chocolate and coconut shortbread

Just like chocolate and salted caramel, dark chocolate and coconut seem to be recurring flavours whenever I feel like baking. They are a classic combination that really works and these shortbread showcase the flavours perfectly. This recipe will give you a wonderfully crumbly and buttery shortbread perfect with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

Ingredients
230g butter, at room temperature
110g caster sugar
Good pinch of salt
260g plain flour
80g ground rice
100g dark chocolate chunks
70g dessicated coconut
Extra caster sugar for finishing

1. Place the coconut into a dry frying pan or skillet and toast the coconut over a low-medium heat until just golden. Take care with this stage because the coconut will burn if you’re not careful. Transfer the coconut from the pan and leave to cool in a bowl 
2. Using a wooden spoon cream the butter in a large bowl until soft then beat in the sugar and salt. 
3. Sift in the flour and ground rice and mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the toasted coconut and chocolate chunks and mix together gently then use your hands to bring the mixture together into a ball of dough. Try not to handle the mixture too much otherwise you will end up with tough cookies. If the mixture doesn’t come together add a little extra butter. 
4. Turn the mixture out onto a wide piece of cling film and form into either a cylindrical or square shaped log, cover with the cling film then chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
5. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 150C. Remove the cling film from the chilled dough log then cut off slices about 1 cm thick . Place the slices on to a baking tray lined with baking parchment then bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked through, but not browned. Take out of the oven then sprinkle with the extra caster sugar and transfer to a wire rack to cook completely. 

tortas de aceite

These crispy, sweet flat breads are incredibly moreish and ever so easy to fall in love with. Ever since I first tried them in Spain several years ago I get regular cravings for them. You can get them over here but they're so expensive that they're difficult to justify. However, I have recently found out how to make them for myself and I can't believe how simple they are. With a straight forward method and cheap ingredients there's no doubting that these tasty treats are going to be making a regular appearance in my house. If you can get your head around a simple bread dough you'll have no difficulty with these. The literal translation is 'oil cakes' but that doesn't sound as good as the Spanish original. My understanding of their history is that they are a traditional sweet from Seville in southern Spain but are now enjoyed all over the world. 

Ingredients These quantities yield around 22 biscuits

100ml of olive oil
large pieces of lemon zest from a whole lemon (or equivalent amount of orange/clementine/tangerine zest)
1 tbsp aniseed (I couldn't get hold of any so used fennel seeds - I reckon you could also use fresh or dried rosemary for a different but equally yummy flavour combo)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
360g plain flour
20g fresh yeast*
80ml warm water
20ml anise (I used ouzo but use what aniseed flavoured alcohol you have to hand or increase the quantity of water)
30g sugar
pinch of salt
Beaten egg white and granulated sugar for finishing.

*My yeast comes in 50g blocks. So I used the other 30g to make my cardamon bread.

1. Put the oil in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the zest and geat until it sizzles and darkens in colour. Add the seeds, turn off the heat and leave to cool. You need to be able to handle it within the dough so leave to cool for at least 15 minutes. Don't rush it and end up burning yourself.
2. Combine the yeast and the warm water until thoroughly mixed. Put the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl, make a well the pour in the water and oil (once cooled).
3. Mix together until you have a rough dough then turn out on to the counter. Flour the surface if needed then knead the dough until smooth and silky.
4. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with cling film and a clean tea towel then leave for around an hour until it doubles in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 220C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Once the dough had risen knock it back down then break off walnut/golf ball size pieces. Roll out each piece  on a lightly floured surface to around 2-3mm thick, rough circles (as thin as you can basically). 
6. Place each rolled out circle on to the baking sheet, brush with the egg white then generously cover with sugar. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes (depending on the size of your oven and the number of baking sheets you have you will probably need to do this in batches). Keep a close eye on them. You want them to turn a rich brown colour and for some of the sugar on top to have caramelised. 
7. Remove from the sheet as soon as they come out of the oven and leave to cool.

lemon & poppy seed egg yolk biscuits

After all my recent meringue making I ended up with a number of egg yolks left over. I hate wasting things and as there's only so much mayonaise I need in the house I decided to try something different. I discovered this recipe online and adapted it for my tastes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tbsp poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper then Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add extracts then add the beaten egg yolk mixture to butter and sugar and blend well.
3. Now mix in all the dry ingredients into the butter, sugar and egg mixture, mixing until it is thoroughly blended.
4. Form into the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut, roll in sugar then place on the baking tray.
5. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes depending on how soft or crunchy you want them to be.

chocolate, peanut butter and salted caramel no-bake cake

This decadent treat uses so many awesome ingredients it is well worth giving a go. I was inspired by this recipe from The Stone Soup. It's ridiculously easy but versatile. You could serve this for a mid-afternoon sugar hit with your tea or coffee or go fancy and serve it with a little extra cream and/or fruit for dessert at a dinner party. The great thing about this recipe is that there are so many possible variations. Try different biscuits or chocolate, perhaps some homemade almond butter...just have a go with what you fancy.

Ingredients serves 8-10

200g whipping cream
400g milk chocolate (I used Marabou)
200g biscuits (I used rich tea fingers)
approx 75g crunchy peanut butter

approx 75g tinned caramel/dulche de leche or similar

Sea salt (optional)

1. Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan then remove from the heat.

2. Break the chocolate into small pieces then add to the hot cream. Stand for around 5 minutes or so until it has all melted together. Stir it together to ensure it is well combined and smooth.

3. While the chocolate is melting into the cream, line a loaf tin with baking paper.

4. Once the chocolate and cream mixture is all combined pour about a third of it into the bottom of the loaf tin.

5. Next add a layer of the biscuits across the chocolate mixture.

6. Using a teaspoon alternate dollops of the peanut butter and caramel until you have completely covered the biscuits. Sprinkle with the sea salt if using.

7. Add another layer of the biscuits then pour over the remainder of the chocolate mixture. 

8. Place your the tin into the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. If you want to speed things up a bit place in the freezer for a little while.

9. Once it has completely set, carefully remove from the tin, peel back the paper and serve. It will be easier to slice if you dip your knife in hot water first.