Pistachio Pinwheels

I made these Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies at Christmas-time, but there is no reason you should not make them all year long. They would be delightful for any occasion!

They are buttery, nutty and have that wonderful shortbread texture. I found the recipe on the New York Times site and they attribute it to the “Dessert Person” blogger, Claire Saffitz. Her cookbook looks amazing.

https://www.dessertperson.com/dessert-person-cookbook

The description the NYT gives makes it sound like they look harder to make than they actually are. And they are beautiful, but I found them a little difficult only because there are several steps, but the results are scrumptious and at Christmas I loved that you did not have to decorate. Possibly I was doing too much at Christmas (who me??), which also made them seem more difficult.

Christmas treats!

Start by pulsing raw, unsalted pistachio nuts in a food processor until they are very finely ground, but not yet forming a paste; about 25 second-long pulses.

Transfer the ground pistachios to a small bowl and set aside.

To the same food processor (no need to wash after grinding the pistachios), add the butter and confectioners sugar, and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. This recipe does call for a lot of butter (1 1/2 sticks), but that is what makes the texture so fabulous.

Add the egg yolks and almond extract and process until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the flour and salt, and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until you have a stiff, uniform dough.

Transfer 2/3 of the dough (about 10 oz.) to a medium bowl and add the almond flour to the bowl. The other 1/3 will be the dough that is used to make the pistachio layer. Use a flexible spatula to work the almond flour into the dough until you have a uniform mixture.

Scrape the almond dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Pat it down with your fingers into a thinner layer, then place a piece of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough between the sheets of parchment into a slab measuring about 12 x 8 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Uncover the dough and use a small offset spatula to shape the dough into a rectangle, if necessary. Do not worry if your shape is not perfect. It will just result in the end pieces not being perfect pinwheels, but still delicious.

Slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and refrigerate the slab until firm; 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile (back at the Ranch…only kidding!), add the ground pistachios to the food processor with the remaining 1/3 dough and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly blended and the dough has taken on a green color; about 7 pulses. Set aside at room temperature while the almond dough chills.

Remove the almond dough from the fridge and plop tablespoon size pieces of the pistachio dough across the surface of the slab. Use the offset spatula to spread the pistachio dough across the length of the slab in an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border along the longer sides. Starting at one of the longer sides and using the parchment paper to help you, roll the dough into a tight spiral log.

Once tightly rolled, use your fingers to smooth out any wrinkles, but because this recipe has so much butter, as the cookies cook, everything comes together so not to worry if you have a couple of cracks in your dough.

Wrap the log in parchment paper and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until the dough is very firm, at least 1 hour. I left mine in the fridge for about 3 hours.

When ready to bake, line two large baking sheets with parchment and set aside. Sprinkle demerara sugar across a cutting board. Remove the log from the fridge, unwrap and roll the log across the board in the sugar; pressing down very firmly as you roll so the sugar adheres to all sides of the roll.

I chose to sprinkle the sugar right on the parchment that the cookies would bake on. Saved one step. As you can see from the photo I did not measure the demerara sugar, but sprinkled liberally so all sides would be covered. Keep rolling and pressing until the log is totally covered in sugar.

Using a sharp knife, shave a thin crosswise slice off of each end so you have straight sides with the full spiral exposed. Claire goes into a lengthy method for cutting the slices so they are even, but if you have pretty good knife skills just cut into 1/4 inch slices. As you cut the slices, roll the pieces on the baking sheet to ensure a nice round shape. You should have 32 slices when complete.

Place the cookies between the two prepared baking sheets and space them evenly. Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks of your oven until they are golden around the edges; 15 to 20 minutes. Switch the racks and rotate sheets front to back halfway through baking.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Next step, EAT and ENJOY!

Print Pin

Pistachio Pinwheels

Rich, buttery, nutty and totally delicious.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Shelled raw, unsalted pistachio nuts
• 3/4 cup Unsalted butter ( 1 1/2 sticks) cut into 1/2" pieces at room temp
• 3/4 cup Plus 2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
• 2 Lge. Egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. Almond extract
• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1 1/3 cups Almond flour
• 1/2 cup Demerara sugar for rolling

Instructions

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are very finely ground, but not yet forming a paste; about 25 second-long pulses. Transfer the ground nuts to a small bowl and set aside.
• To the same food processor, add the butter and confectioners sugar and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks and almond extract, and process until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the flour and salt, and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed, until you have a stiff, uniform dough.
• Transfer 2/3 of the dough (about 10 oz.) to a medium bowl and add the almond flour to the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to work the almond flour into the dough until you have a uniform mixture.
• Scrape the almond dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Pat it down with your hands into a thinner layer, then place a piece of parchment paper on the top. Roll out the dough between the sheets of parchment into a slab measuring 12 x 8 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and refrigerate the slab until firm; 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the ground pistachios to the food processor with the remaining dough and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly blended and the dough has taken on a green color; about 7 pulses. Set aside at room temperature while the almond dough chills.
• Remove the almond dough from the fridge and plop tablespoon-size pieces of the pistachio dough across the surface of the slab. Use the offset spatula to spread the pistachio dough across the length of the slab in an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border along the longer sides. Starting at one of the longer sides and using the parchment paper to help you, roll the dough into a tight spiral log. Wrap the log in parchment paper and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until the dough is very firm; at least 1 hour.
• When ready to bake, arrange two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• Sprinkle the demerara sugar across a cutting board. Remove the log from the fridge, unwrap and roll across the board in the sugar; pressing down very firmly as you roll so the sugar adheres. Continue to roll and press until the entire log is coated. Using a sharp knife, shave a thin crosswise slice off of each end so you have straight sides with the full spiral exposed. Cut the log in half crosswise, then cut each half in half again to make quarters, and cut each quarter in half again for eighths. As you cut, roll the pieces on the cutting board to prevent the pinwheels from gaining a flat side and losing their round shape. Cut each piece into 4 equal slices to make 32 cookies.
• Divide the cookies between the two prepared baking sheets and space them evenly. Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks until they are golden around the edges; 15-20 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheets front to back halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.