Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies

By stancec44

You can find pistachio paste at specialty food stores and some grocery stores, but making your own is easy. Process ½ cup raw pistachios, 2 Tbsp. honey, and 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a food processor to a smooth paste.

I had the same problem with trying to make pistachio paste. I did some experimenting and my conclusion is that you can not get a smooth paste unless you first grind the pistachios to a powder before you add the honey and oil. DO NOT put all three ingredients in the food processor at once. So I started again and I took the nuts and ground them in just a few seconds in a little cuisinart grinder/chopper. Then I put them in a bowl and started adding honey and oil in small amounts; then I achieved a smooth paste. Then I beat the paste with the butter in an electric mixer. A lot of work but I looked on it as a chemistry experiment, and I was bent on figuring it out. Anyway, my cookies taste good, but aren't as pretty as in the picture They kind of look like guacamole thumbprints. I did read that if you want really light green color you have to peel the skins off the pistachios first.

Do Ahead: Cookies can be baked (but not filled) 3 days ahead; store airtight at room temperature. Cookies can be filled 1 day ahead.

Ingredients

• Honey-Vanilla Sable Dough:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup honey
• Cookies:
• 1/3 cup finely chopped raw pistachios
• 1 log Honey-Vanilla Sablé Dough
• 1/2 cup sweetened pistachio paste
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Preparation

Step 1

Dough:
Whisk flour, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl to combine. Place sugar in a large bowl and scrape in vanilla seeds; save pods for another use. Massage mixture with your fingers until sugar looks like wet sand. Add butter and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Add egg yolk and honey; beat to combine. Reduce speed to low; add dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition. Knead dough a couple of times to incorporate any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl.
Divide dough in half and pat into two 9"-long logs. Wrap each log in parchment paper, then wrap tightly in plastic. Roll each log across work surface to make as round and regular as possible, then chill until firm, about 2 hours. (Stop here and see below for continuation of Pistachio Cookies. If you want to just bake the Honey Vanilla cookies, continue from here.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Gently scatter half of sanding sugar over a small portion of work surface. Unwrap 1 log of dough and roll log in sugar, applying a bit of pressure to help it stick, until evenly coated. Slice dough into ¼"–½"-thick rounds, rolling log every few slices to avoid creating a flat surface. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart, and chill. Scatter remaining sanding sugar on surface and repeat with remaining log of dough.
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until cookies are golden around the edges but still pale in the center, 13–18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 month ahead; freeze instead of chilling. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using. Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

Pistachio Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°. Place pistachios in a small bowl. Unwrap dough and slice crosswise into 18 pieces and roll each between the palms of your hands into smooth balls. Press gently into pistachios to coat half of each ball, then place, pistachio side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart.

Bake cookies until barely golden, 8–10 minutes. Remove from oven and press the handle of a wooden spoon about three-quarters of the way down into the center of each cookie to make a round indentation, and wiggle in a circular motion to widen. Return to oven; bake until golden brown, 5–8 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat pistachio paste and butter in a small bowl until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Dollop 1–2 tsp. pistachio mixture into the indentation in each cookie.