Crystal Plant
Raspberry Pistachio Linzer Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup shelled pistachios
- 2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam or jelly (or any flavour!)
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions:
- Place the pistachios and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a food processor. Pulse into a very fine crumb. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the butter and remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the flour mixture and the ground pistachio mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. It will be crumbly at first but will come together after a couple of minutes of mixing.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, gently flatten into discs, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill the discs in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. The dough may become sticky as you work, so keep extra flour nearby to use as needed. Roll out the disc until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch round or fluted cookie cutter, cut dough into circles. Reroll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
- Using a 1-inch round or fluted cookie cutter, cut a hole into the centre of 32 of the circles. Let’s call these 32 cookies the “doughnut cookies” because of that centre hole.
- Bake the whole circles for about 11 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges, and bake the doughnut cookies for about 10 minutes.
- Spread 1⁄2 teaspoon of jam on each whole cookie. Carefully top each with a doughnut cookie and press down gently to create a cookie sandwich. Dust each with confectioners’ sugar.
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 24 chocolate kiss candies, unwrapped
Directions:
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Beat the butter for 1 minute on high speed until creamy. On medium-high speed, beat in 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and the 1/2 cup of brown sugar until completely creamed and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix on high until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Also, make sure there is room in your freezer because they will later need to be placed inside to prevent the Kisses from melting on the warm cookies.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each. Roll each ball in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and arrange on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops begin to slightly crack. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Press a chocolate kiss candy into each cookie on 1 of the baking sheets until it sticks. Place the baking sheet in the freezer so the chocolate does not melt. Remove after 10 minutes in the freezer.
