Pine Nut Dessert Food

PINE NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, fennel seed, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and mix just until blended.
• Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into an 8-inch-long log. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line heavy large baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper. Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart. Press the pine nuts decoratively atop the cookies. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.

PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• For the tart crust: Add the flour, granulated sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until small pebbles form. With the machine running, add the egg yolk, vanilla and water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Remove to a piece of plastic wrap and press together into a dough ball. Flatten into a disk then refrigerate, at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the honey and pine nut filling: Add the honey, brown sugar and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and whisk until melted. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a 13-inch circle and place in an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill 30 more minutes.
• Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork. Place a piece of parchment in the center of the tart and fill all the way to the top with dried beans. Bake until the crust is set but still slightly pale, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove the parchment and beans.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, whisk the heavy cream, egg yolk, lemon zest and juice into the cooled filling. Place the cooled tart shell on a rimmed baking sheet and scatter the pine nuts inside the shell. Evenly pour the filling into the tart crust and bake until the top is golden brown, the filling is set and the very center still has a slight jiggle, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Cool completely before slicing, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.

PINE NUT DESSERT

Steps:

• Mix syrup and cream and pour over pine nuts. Serve cold. It's that easy!

PINE NUT SOUP

Steps:

• Put all ingredients (except garnish) in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Puree soup until smooth, in batches, in a blender.
• Return to pan and reheat slowly.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped green onion.

PINE NUT CARAMEL BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square glass baking dish with foil. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Add sugar and lemon peel and beat until light and fluffy. Mix flour, cornstarch and salt in small bowl. Add to butter mixture and mix until beginning to gather together. Press dough over bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared dish. Pierce dough all over with fork. Bake until beginning to color, about 35 minutes. Remove crust from oven; maintain oven temperature.
• Combine butter, packed dark brown sugar and honey in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Boil without whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles enlarge, about 1 minute. Stir in pine nuts. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream.
• Spread topping in crust. Bake until caramel bubbles, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Remove from pan, using foil as aid. Cut into squares. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container.)

PINE NUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325°
• 2. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup: level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in pine nuts. Combine water, lemon zest, vanilla and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well blended (dough will be dry and crumbly). Knead dough lightly in bowl 7 or 8 times until a dough forms (now dough will be sticky). Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8 inch long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten each roll to 1 inch thickness.
• 3. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Do not turn your oven off.
• 4. Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2 inch thick) slices using a serrated knife. Place slices, cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes. Turn slices over and bake another 10 minutes. Cookies will be sliightly soft in center but will harden as they cool. Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks.

PINE NUT, CARAMEL & SEA SALT SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• The crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, placing the rack in the center of the oven. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), combine butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and mix again. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue to mix until the dough begins to adhere together in large clumps, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl along the way. Lightly spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press the dough into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork in about a dozen places. Chill the until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack until the dough cools completely.
• The filling: Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large skillet set over medium heat, toast pine nuts until they are light golden brown. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir while cooking until the caramel coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add toasted pine nuts and vanilla extract. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
• Bake the mixture until the filling is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack. When the bars are lukewarm, prinkle 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt over the top of the pine nuts, gently pressing to adhere. Once the bars cool completely, run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan (I had to do this a couple of times). Invert the pan onto the cooling rack, giving the bottom of the pan a sharp rap to loosen the bars. Remove the pan and lay a cutting board over the bars and flip over. Now the bars will be on the cutting board, filling side facing up. Using a sharp knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

PIGNOLI NUT PIE

Steps:

• Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cream, and melted butter in a bowl. Whisk until well blended. Fold in the pignoli nuts. Pour filling into the pie crust.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 minutes.

HONEY AND PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• Make the pasta frolla: Whisk cream, egg, yolk, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a food processor to mix. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, add cream mixture, and process until dough just comes together. Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate 1 disk until firm, about 1 hour; reserve remaining disk for another use. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw before using.)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. (If dough is soft and sticky, transfer to a baking sheet and freeze until firm but pliable, about 5 minutes.) Cut out a 12-inch round, and fit it into a fluted 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. (Patch any tears with scraps of dough.) Freeze while making the filling (or cover and freeze for up to 3 days).
• Make the filling: Bring sugar, honeys, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, whisking until sugar dissolves. Add butter, and whisk until incorporated. Transfer honey mixture to a medium bowl, and let cool for 30 minutes. Whisk in cream, egg, and yolk until incorporated.
• Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Scatter pine nuts over bottom. Slowly pour filling over pine nuts, redistributing pine nuts evenly with your fingers. Bake until crust is golden brown and center is set but still slightly wobbly, about 1 hour. Transfer tart to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Remove from pan, and serve immediately.