Salted Pistachio Cookies (v, gf)

These cookies happened because Emily is always telling me that I try to combine too many strong flavors in one dish. She’s right (sweet potato AND sesame AND honey / ginger AND molasses AND miso), so I decided to try to make a cookie that was just pistachio. I was inspired by a good salted peanut butter cookie, so I wanted something similar but a little more chewy and not overly sweet.

Pistachios being very expensive, however, I really needed to justify their use here. I found that toasting heightens their flavor, as does chopping them small in a food processor rather than grinding them all the way into a paste (which I did at first in a blender). I’ve also included almond flour to add bulk and almond extract which surprisingly doesn’t make them taste like almonds, but even more like pistachio (!? this was also an Emily recommendation). The tapioca starch in the cookies helps them be soft and chewy and means that incidentally we’ve made a gluten-free cookie.

The final element was brown sugar, which is the subject of a really beautiful Secret Ingredient essay coming at you Sunday. I originally tried making the cookies with maple syrup, which overwhelmed the flavor, and white sugar, which was slightly less interesting. Brown sugar adds a depth of flavor that doesn’t take away from the pistachio, and improves the texture with its moisture.

Despite the many tests I did to get everything right, the recipe itself is incredibly easy — just add the ingredients to a food processor and whirr them up. It does require 20 extra minutes to chill the dough, unless you don’t mind the cookies spreading a lot and being slightly more crispy than soft.

Yield: 12 medium (45-gram) cookies

Ingredients

• 170 grams (6 oz) unsalted shelled pistachios

• 28 grams (2 tablespoons) coconut oil, melted

• 65 grams (⅔ cup) fine almond flour

• 113 grams (1 cup) tapioca starch

• 140 grams (⅔ cup) brown sugar

• ¼ cup non-dairy or dairy milk (I use soy)

• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

To finish

• Additional brown sugar

• Crunchy salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Toast the pistachios in the oven for about 7 minutes, until fragrant.

3. Add them to a food processor and process until mostly broken up.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients (through “baking soda”) and process some more until the dough is evenly mixed with no white streaks. It won’t have a smooth texture since there will still be small chunks of pistachio.

5. Divide the dough into 12 balls (use your palms to round them off) and lightly coat each ball in brown sugar, brushing off any excess. Evenly space the balls out on a sheet tray and chill for 20 minutes.

6. Use a fork to press down in a hatch pattern on each dough ball, the way you would a peanut butter cookie. Generously sprinkle crunchy salt on each one.

7. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the cookies are beginning to develop cracks but not spread much. They’ll probably be very soft coming out of the oven, so let cool for a few minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.