Sandi is blogging from the WhistleStop Cafe kitchen. It's all about good home cooking; food, family and fun. Thousands of posts . . .

~In the south and around the world.



Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday Slow Bakers

Now that all of the Slow Travelers are home from Savannah, with only future trips to plan, we were looking for something else to blog about. Sunday Slow Bakers were born! We plan to feature a recipe from a cookbook and everyone post on sunday.
The cookbook we are using is 'Dolce Italiano' by Gina DePalma (our own Stella). I don't have my own copy (yet) but Kim was nice enough to share.


Sicilian Pistachio Bars

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt
1 cup shelled, whole unsalted pistachios
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup plus 2t granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1t vanilla extract
1t amaretto
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 325°


Lightly grease 13x18 jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper; then lightly grease the paper using nonstick cooking spray or butter. In medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside. Place 1/2 cup pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and process for 20 to 30 seconds until the nuts are finely ground. Stir the ground pistachios into the flour mixture. Cream the butter with the 1 1/4 cups sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, amaretto and lemon zest. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients to make a soft dough.
Spread the dough evenly. Coarsely chop the remaining pistachios in the food processor and sprinkle them evenly over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the remaining 2t sugar evenly over the nuts.
Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the dough is firm and just turning golden brown at the edges. Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack for 30 - 45 minutes before cutting the cookies into rectangular bars.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment paper, and kept in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days.
I added a drizzle of chocolate, just because!

Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

9 comments:

Shelly said...

Yummm....these look really good, I want one right now to go with my cappuccino!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. The picture of the daffodils was taken in Mt. Vernon, Washington at a bulb farm, pretty huh? I'm hoping to get some tulip field photos pretty soon.

Lisa Pogue said...

OOOOO, aaaahhhh, my these look tasty. I'll have to try these some day.

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

These look so yummy. I bet they would be delicious with a cup of tea.....Wishes for a wonderful week.....

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

Sigh, are you gonna take the extra pounds that will be piling on?


(())

bethanyjg said...

Mmm...looks delicious! Thank you for the comment on the Bananas Foster - they are one of my husband's favorite things to cook. Love the blog.

And I had a fried green tomato BLT for lunch today. :)

Anonymous said...

Yum!!! Congratulations on SmileBox. :)

Gigi said...

ooooo, ...drooling! Sandi, why do you torture me? I have bookmarked the recipe for later. Yummy!

Anonymous said...

Sandi, I know i'd love these but I'd love 'em even better with Chocolate (great touch)....mmmm I want one sooo bad. Barb Cabot

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Shelly & Mary Isabella~ Perfect with cappuccino or tea!
Lisa & Francie~ yummy is worth the extra calories.
Bethany~ bannana foster is one of my favorites too... I'll be right over
Lynn~ thanks for the smilebox ;D
GiGi~ this would be a great recipe for you
Barb~ doesn't a drizzle of chocolate make everything better?

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