Pistachio Almond Cookies

I love the cookies at Marks and Spencers. I was there to pick up some organic Camomile tea recently and browse through its array of cookies. There's my favourite rich tea and ginger snaps and a whole lot of new flavours! What caught my eye was Almond and Pistachio cookies, and Orange and Cranberry cookies. Well.. I did not buy them, but I was inspired to bake some cookies.

When I went home, I searched through the trusty network of food bloggers and found a Pistachio Almond Cookie recipe at Sugar and Everything Nice. The cookies looked so good, I printed the recipe and immediately get going.

I also saw a recipe in Kitchen Culture magazine, Cranberry Almond Cookies and decided to use the same almond cookie recipe base to make both cookies.

The result - I love the pistachio cookies! The cookie is so buttery and light and the pistachio added a nice nutty crunch. The cranberry ones are great too, but they taste much better the following day.

The pictures look so different, because they were taken at different times of the day. I really must work on my lighting. But I am lazy. As it is, I am already like squeezing out time to bake amidst looking after my three young ones on weekends.

Here's the recipe.

Pistachio & Almond Cookies

Recipe Adapted from The Cookie Collection

Makes about 30 cookies ( I made 28)

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter, softened

140g castor sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

55g ground almonds

55g pistachio nuts, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1) Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon (I use the mixer). Then beat in the egg yolk and extract.

2) Sift the flour and salt into the mixture. Add the ground almonds and stir until thoroughly combined. Halve the dough, shape into balls, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for about 40 minutes.

3) Preheat the oven to 190C. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

4) Unwrap the dough. Pinch some dough, about 1 tablespoon, and roll into a ball. Put on the baking sheet, spaced well part. Flattened each ball slightly with your palm.

5) Sprinkle some chopped pistachio on each cookie. Press lightly so that it stays.

6) Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for 5 - 10 minutes, then using a palette knife, carefully transfer the cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

I baked mine for about 13-14 minutes as I like it slightly firmer. For the cranberry variation, I added the cranberry into the dough prior to refrigeration.