Guys, it’s friggin’ cold. I know, I say this every year, but I’m tired of waking up to “Feels like 14F” temperatures each morning. As if having to wear a hat+gloves+boots+sleeping-bag coat for weeks on end wasn’t bad enough, it’s also frigid in my apartment. (Maybe because heat rises and I live on the second floor. Or maybe because my building’s central heating system is terrible. But definitely not because I’ve stacked an enormous pile of junk directly in front of the heater and refuse to move it … )
So I sleep in sweatshirts and flannel PJs and fuzzy socks and triple burrito-wrap myself in blankets. And when not in bed, I bake. Keeping the oven on for a few hours heats up the apartment pretty nicely, so it’s a win-win.
After buying the ingredients for these fabulous dark chocolate, pistachio cookies and sea salt cookies in the fall, I was left with a ton of leftover pistachios that I ate like a normal human ignored because I was too lazy to shell them. But when my sister came over on a quiet Sunday afternoon (she lives here now!), I put her on nut-cracking duty so that I could finally clear my already overburdened cabinet.
To use up all of the pistachios, I needed to find a recipe that featured the nuts in all their glory. To my shock, there’s not a ton out there — too many recipes call for pistachio pudding mix instead of the real thing, and many more use it solely as a garnish, rather than a main ingredient. I had to deep-dive into my “pistachio cookie” Google search, and finally found these pistachio-cardamom meltaways a few pages in (thank you Jeeeezus).
The recipe immediately reminded me of my beloved toasted pecan sandies, with its use of ground nuts in the batter, which creates a crumbly, soft cookie that is dusted with powdered sugar at the end. Nut-based cookies are big this time of year, as the similar walnut-based polverones, or Mexican Wedding cookies, are also on many a holiday cookie tray.
While I love the sandies (and will be making them next week), these were DELISH. Perfect for breakfast, perfect for lunch, perfect with an afternoon cup of tea — I didn’t even get around to eating them for dinner because I had eaten so many of them throughout the day. They “melt away” with each bite (get it — meltaway?), the cardamom adding a warm, spiced note to each bite. Despite the powdered sugar topping, they’re not overly sweet. These definitely deserve a spot in your cookie lineup this season!
Pistachio-Cardamom Meltaways
Adapted from The Black Peppercorn
Makes 54 1-inch cookies
– 1 cup shelled, unroasted pistachios
– 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
– 3/4 cup granulated sugar
– 1 egg yolk
– 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
– 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2) Using a spice grinder or food processor, grind the pistachios until they are fine crumbs. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until just combined. Stir in the cardamom and flour and mix until the dough just comes together (it will be crumbly).
3) Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and then flatten them slightly into small disks. Place each disk 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, turning the trays halfway. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4) Once the cookies are cooled, dust with the powdered sugar. Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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