These cookies are very much similar to a Mexican Wedding Cake cookie only they are neither round nor crescent shaped, but have more of a, for lack of a better word, football oval shape to them. They can be dredged in confectionary sugar, however, they become transformed into a beyond bundle of goodness cookie when dipped in white chocolate.
Sometimes you come across a recipe and you want to make it immediately. This was one such recipe, found in Bon Appétit about six years ago. Initially upon reading the recipe I saw it called for both cake flour and all-purpose unbleached flour. I thought 'oh great, I don't have any cake flour in the cupboard'. So much for the impulsive thought of rushing to make these cookies as the reality of this baking endeavor was going to be one of those delayed gratification experiences. Once I finally had all of the ingredients and made the cookies, cake flour became a must-have staple. And oh yes, these cookies were definitely worth the wait.
Leaving butter out the night before makes it room temperature perfect. The butter and confectionary sugar are whipped together until light and fluffy. It helps to begin creaming the butter before adding the confectionary sugar so as to minimize the sugar dust storm.
The recipe works well with either dried cherries or dried cranberries although I prefer the taste of the dried cherries. The pistachios are measured first, then chopped. You can rough chop them with a knife or in a food processor. Just make certain you do not pulverize the pistachios.
Make certain you start with a large mixing bowl as the flours are to be stirred into the dough all at once. This a really dense dough making the stirring a little bit of an arm workout. Tending to not having a strong stirring arm (Jennifer Aniston's arms I unfortunately do not have), I usually begin the process using the mixer, but am careful not to take it too far as the dough will become tough if over-mixed.
Once you get the hang of making the football shaped ovals of the dough, it will not take you long to get them into the oven. Remember to bake them in the top third of the oven and bake only one cookie sheet at a time. You want the bottoms to be lightly browned. There is nothing worse than the taste of a burnt cookie, even those where you try to hide the imperfections with sugar or chocolate. Because we all know, burnt imperfections cannot be hidden.
The original recipe only called for these cookies to be dredged in confectionary sugar. If you dredge them right out of the oven you risk having the confectionary sugar melt completely as well as risk the cookies breaking. Let them sit at least 10 minutes before you dredge them.
The cookies in this recipe adaptation are dipped in melted white chocolate. Once dipped, take a fork to drizzle the remaining white chocolate over the cookies or leave them with a smooth dipped finished. As I have shared before, the Ghiradelli white chocolate melts perfectly and gives your cookies that bakery finished look. The cookies have an incredible taste either dredged in sugar or dipped in melted chocolate, the choice you make will be based on your personal preference and time.
Recipe
White Chocolate Dipped Pistachio and Dried Cherry cookies (Adaption of the Pistachio and Cherry Mexican Wedding Cookies appearing in Bon Appétit)
2 cups or 4 sticks of unsalted, room temperature butter
1 cup confectionary sugar, plus more for dredging if you choose that finishing option
2 Tablespoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup pistachios chopped (measure first, then chop)
1 cup dried tart cherries or dried cranberries
3 1/3 cups sifted cake flour
1 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
Optional: 6-8 ounces White Chocolate melted (Ghiradelli, Lindt)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Sift and measure out flours. Combine together and set aside.
3. In a mixer, combine the butter and 1 cup of confectionary sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in vanilla and salt, followed by the chopped pistachios and cherries.
5. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, still in all of the flour. This will take some work but be careful not to overmix the dough.
6. Shape generous tablespoonfuls of dough into football shaped ovals. Place on prepared pans, spacing at least 1 inch apart.
7. Place tray in top third of the oven and bake for 16 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies just begins to turn light brown in color.
8. Finishing options:
If coating in confectionary sugar, cool cookies for approximately 10 minutes before dredging the
cookies in the sugar.
If dipping the cookies in white chocolate, let cool completely (at least 20 minutes). After dipping in
chocolate, let chocolate harden before serving or packaging.
Most of my friends know I have a tendency to lean toward creating a monochromatic look in my surroundings with shades of white the color of choice. For me color should only come into a room from art, the carpets, and collections of all things both old and new. And when flowers are brought in to a room, those too need to be monochromatic. As much as a I absolutely love a white arrangement or bouquet, I am already anxiously awaiting the return of the hydrangea season. It takes your breath away to see a large bouquet of deep blue hydrangeas sitting on a table or dresser.
The White Chocolate Dipped Pistachio and Dried Cherry cookies have an almost perfect winter white look to them. But then they surprise you. Because once into the first bite you get to see and experience color provided by the dried cherries and pistachios. So no matter what your color preferences are, this cookie satisfies (al)most everyone.
