Mary Ellen Rae's Cardamom Pistachio Cookies

While others are feverishly making wax-paper wrapped caramels, soaking fruits for cake, stirring away lava-hot apple butter on the stove, or cooking glossy pots of fudge sauce to be jarred, beribboned, and gifted, I am up to my eyeballs in moving to-do lists for this final phase before I leave New York. Now is the time of administrative purgatory - endless hold times to change addresses, shut down bank accounts, and generally close up shop on the past nine years of a life here.

Let me tell you - I'd rather be making caramel.

Christmas baking and cooking have taken a major back seat. In fact, cooking in general has become rather elusive as of late. Yesterday I cooked together frozen spinach, a can of diced tomatoes and some frozen Rancho Gordo beans into a strange little stew of sorts, realizing as I ate that it was the first home-cooked meal I'd had in almost a week (and practically the first vegetables, too). But I'm not complaining. The reason I'm not at home cooking is that I'm out living this city, seeing friends as much as I possibly can, giving them far too many hugs and squeezing as much juice out of this apple as it will let me. It's delicious. The stove can wait.

But before I leave you to get back to packing and blowing my city big, wet kisses, I do have one little something to tell you about, something soft and crumbly, buttery and sweet, vaguely exotic and sparkling. A right little charmer, if I do say so myself.

What on earth am I doing baking Christmas cookies, you ask? Old habits die hard, I suppose. It can't be December if the oven hasn't been fired up at least once for cookies, after all, can it? And in any case, I'm participating in the gorgeous Lottie + Doof's 12 Days of Cookies, which was as fine an excuse as any to pull out a recipe I've been saving to try since 2003.

That recipe came from the Los Angeles Times and was for buttery spritz cookies, made using a cookie press. I used to have one of those things, a kind gift from birthdays past, but somewhere in my many moves the thing went missing. The recipe hung on tight, snug in its little folder, smug in the knowledge I'd make it, come cookie press or high water. The thing is, "buttery spritz cookie" is kind of misleading, makes you think I made something Danish-butter-cookie-like. When really what emerged from the oven was something different.

The truth is, I'm a little tired of the same old Christmas flavors, of cinnamon and hazelnuts, or chocolate and orange peel. There are moments when 2009 feels like the longest year of my life, and others when I realize last Christmas actually just happened last week. Last week! And people expect me to be in the mood for holiday cookies again? The nerve.

So when I saw that this cookie eschewed cinnamon and nutmeg, was austere and plain save for a gentle sprinkling of ground cardamom and a few green shards of pistachio, it became the only thing I wanted to bake. With a nice sparkle of salt to boot, this cookie is a belly-dancing rebuke to the standard brown gingerbread you might just be a little sick of. Between the cardamom and the pistachio, munching on these cookies made me feel like I was celebrating Advent in a souk somewhere, the scent of rosewater hanging heavily in the air, warm breezes blowing through a narrow window.

Instead of spritzing the dough through a cookie press, I rolled it into a log and chilled it until firm, then sliced it and topped the cookies with their sugary green décor. I made the mistake, though I hope you'll forgive me, of using regular sugar instead of the coarse decorating sugar. I just can't bear to buy anything else kitchen-wise, before the move. The thing is, you really do want that large-grained crunch on top. Regular sugar threatens to push these into saccharine territory. Also, I let them come to room temperature before baking, but I'm not sure why I did that. Don't bother, I'd say.

These cookies are delicate little things. Let them cool on the parchment-lined baking sheet before carefully removing them to a cooling rack. They shouldn't crumble too much, then, but these are definitely not the hardy types. They should be eaten, rather delicately, I'd say, alongside a cup of tea, rather than plunked lustily into the hot mug. Or packed gently between gossamer leaves of tissue paper in a box for presenting. They're an unexpected twist in a box of holiday cookies, an exotic little pop of flavor and crunch.

And with that, lovelies, I'm going to step away from the computer for a bit. I don't know if I'll post again before Berlin. I have a week left and an awful lot to do. I'll be updating my Twitter feed, if you want to follow along there, and my Flickr page, of course. I know you know that my heart is filled with the greatest jumble of emotions, exhilaration and sadness taking turns setting up shop. I think right now I'm firmly entrenched in I-can't-believe-this-is-happening territory, eyes wide and happy, eyes filled with tears.

This life, man. Who knew?

Cardamom Pistachio Cookies
Makes about five dozen 1.5 – 2-inch cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed using a mortar and pestle
1/4 cup sparkling decorative sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for one minute. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and beat an additional minute.

2. Sift together the flour and salt. Spoon the flour mixture into the butter mixture and add the cardamom. Beat on low speed, then increase to medium and mix until the batter is combined.

3. Spoon the dough into a cookie press and press out onto ungreased baking sheets. Or roll the dough into a log, wrap in parchment paper and chill for two hours before slicing into rounds and arranging evenly onto the cookie sheets. In a small bowl, combine the sparkling sugar and the pistachio nuts, then sprinkle some on each cookie.

4. Bake just until the edges of the cookies start to turn a pale golden color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then remove carefully to a wire rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. When they are completely cool, store in an airtight container. They may be kept frozen up to two months.

Comments

[kellypea]

I've lurked around for a few years now and have admired your writing, your photography, and recipes -- they always turn out wonderfully. The cookies sound perfect. Good luck to you!

[Indian Takeaway]

That sounds like a really nice cookie. I never would of thought to put cardamom in a cookiw mix, as I usually use it in curries. But it really does make a difference.

[value dining]

this are really good recipes,can i hijack them and use in my eatry? also can i add you in my proposed collection of best recipe blogs in my website http://valuedining.com

[Julia]

Those look so special!

[kms]

all the best to you and your new adventures in berlin. good luck with the big move!

[Kamilah]

I made these the lazy way (it was my fifth batch of cookies that day) and they still came out delicous. I just used a 1/2 oz cookie scoop to plop the dough on the cookie sheet then gave each cookie a determined press with the palm of my hand. I followed the rest of the directions as written. Very, very delicious. Oh, and I used 1 tsp of ground cardamom in the dough instead of crushed fresh cardamom seeds. still yummy.

[The Local Cook]

Mmmm, cardamom! It's one of my recently favorite spices. And good luck with the move!

[Maytina]

Wow. Just wow. What a rebellious little cookie. My husband is over the moon for pistachios, and I've made about a million gingerbread cookies. :P

Must try these! Thanks and good luck with your move!

[Rachel @ Shedding It]

I love pistachios in cookies and these are beautiful...great recipe!

[joanna goddard]

these look SO good!!! have a happy holiday and best of luck with the move xoxo joanna

[The Healthy Apple]

Wow; these sound delicious...I may just have to make these for my holiday guests...thank you so very much.

Happy Holidays and good luck with your move!!!

Best,

The Healthy Apple

[Suzanne Quinn]

Delicious - having trouble saving some for Christmas Eve...

[Lucie]

Yummy, this is so indicative of Middle Eastern flavors, thank you for this great recipe, I may include it in my blog soon :)

http://honeythesweeterlife.com/

[Yosha]

These were fantasic! I love the smell as they were baking. My dad had a biscuit while sipping tea, he said it was like having a chai tea with the lingering taste of the cardamom in his mouth! Of course this was his way of scammnig another cookie!

I am guessing you are in the middle of your move...best of luck. I can't wait to read more posts.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the happiest New Year!

Cheers!

[Megan Gordon]

You go, girl! Good luck. Be well. Thanks for the intriguing recipe..look forward to more soon or eventually :)

[heyguy]

i was on the grand canyon wall when i met some german guy...he told me that germany is radically reunited 40 million so you will have lots of friends!!just say new york in german!!www.dinneronadollar.org is how i got started looking for good recipes,,,,fly hi and safe...heyguy

[Erica]

Happy Holidays all! Can somebody who has made this cookie please tell me if they are crisp or soft. My sister loves pistachios but only likes very crisp cookies and I want to make something she'll enjoy. Thanks for your help.
twistyhair@hotmail.com

[andrea zieher]

I managed to snag a few of your leftover batch of these cookies. Phenomenal!!! Such a c mix of flavors. Hope you had a wonderful Berlin Christmas!

[Kristin (The Pearl Onion)]

Dear Wednesday Chef...When will you post again? Yours truly, The Pearl Onion
PS-I hope you are settling in well!

[Rebecca]

Luisa...I am delurking because I can't let you go to Berlin without saying thank you and goodbye....we are all along with you, cheering you on and thrilled for you at this opportunity life has opened for you. You will be phenomenal. As always. I wish I would have gotten together with you while I was living on the uws! I hadn't wanted to stalk you--but now I regret it! Stalking is so overrated!:) Well, I really enjoyed meeting you at Molly/Orangette's book reading last March, even if it was for just one minute. Would have loved to talk more, because I have a similar emo/food relationship with Jerusalem...So,for now, blessigns and best of luck in the new year and this new chapter of your life. xo

[cookeaze]

I’ve been wanting to try this and definitely need to get on that because yours looks delish.Done a nice effort and wish you a happy new year!

[Verena]

Ich hoffe, du hast eine Nachrichtenfunktion für neue Kommentare. Ich bin ja etwas spät dran. Ich bin vor kurzem auf deinen Blog gestossen und sehe gerade, dass du nach Berlin gezogen bist. Vielleicht hast du Interesse an einem kürzlich eröffneten englischen Buchladen mit Cafe, der von einer ganz lieben Bekannten geführt wird: http://www.dialogueberlin.com/
Vielleicht macht dir das ja das Einleben ein bisschen einfacher.
Viele Grüße und einen guten Start!

[bluejeangourmet]

love this flavor combination & the way you write about it, of course. bookmarking these for valentine's day!

[tastaturen]

These cookies are so simple to make. Tell you frankly, I really love to make cookies-the simple way. Trying to make a decorated enriched ones takes a lot of time and effort which kills the enthusiasm at the end.

[Cris]

I am 58 and as a child we had many fruit trees even in the city, on the west coast. All our fruit went to jelly for canning and I wore alot of it on my shirt from jelly doughnuts. Yours look just like those my mom made right down to the sugar they are dipped in. Hot and we filled them with hand made wax paper pastry bags. Thanks for the memory. Cris

[Liz]

These cookies were so delicious. Buttery, soft and crumbly = perfection. Love the cardamon flavor - which I used ground. I used raw sugar to top the cookies with the pistachio - amazing!