Pistachio Linzer Cookies With Orange Marmalade Food

PISTACHIO LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually mix in the flour until combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (Alternatively, you can divide it in half, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before proceeding to the next step.) Roll out the dough until it's 3/16 inch thick. Cut out twelve 3-inch circles using a cookie or biscuit cutter. Use a 3/4- to 1-inch-wide star cookie cutter or smaller circle to cut out a hole in the center. Place the cookies on one of the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the dough and cutouts and punch out 12 more 3-inch circles. Place the circles on the second baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies until set but still pale, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate chips. Stir in the pistachios and a drop of green food coloring, if desired.
• Once the cookies are cool, spread a thick layer of the white chocolate in the center of a cookie and then squish into a sandwich with one of the cutout cookies. Sprinkle the center with additional pistachios and/or sprinkles, if using. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Let stand at room temperature or in the fridge until set, about 5 minutes.

PISTACHIO LINZER COOKIES WITH ORANGE MARMALADE

Steps:

• In a food processor, finely grind the pistachios. Add the butter and 1 cup sugar and pulse to combine. Pulse in the egg and orange-blossom water.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg, salt and clove. Add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a moist dough. Divide dough in half and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours.
• Place parchment paper on three large baking sheets. (If you don't have three, roll out the dough in smaller batches and keep the rest refrigerated.) Take one disk of dough and roll it out on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 3-inch rounds, and transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Use a 1 1/2-inch cutter to stamp out a hole from the center of half (not all) of the cookies (this will form the "window" for the cookies). Transfer the smaller cookies to a prepared sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gently combine and reroll any scraps. You will have three shapes of cookies on the cookie sheets: rings, large round cookies and small round cookies. Wrap each tray with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake cookies until just golden, about 15 minutes for the small rounds, and 18 to 22 minutes for the larger cookies. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Put the marmalade in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave for 20 seconds and stir, until it's warm and easier to spread. Or heat slowly in a small pot over low heat. Spread each large round cookie with marmalade. Top with a large ring-shaped cookie. Spread half the small round cookies with marmalade and top with the remaining small round cookies. Generously dust all cookies with the rest of the confectioners' sugar.

ORANGE MARMALADE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Grease a cookie sheet (I just use parchment paper).
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and orange marmalade and mix until thoroughly combined. Add additional marmalade if the batter is too stiff.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. With the mixer running, slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture until blended.
• Drop by spoonfuls on the cookie sheet; do not crowd the cookies as the batter will spread during baking. Bake until the cookies spread out and are lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.
• Cool a minute or two on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
• *The original yield was 40 cookies, but I must have made them a little large, because I only ended up with 22.

ORANGE PISTACHIO COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg, orange zest and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and cornstarch; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Roughly shape each portion into a 7-in. roll along the long end of a 14x8-in. sheet of waxed paper. Tightly roll waxed paper over dough, using the waxed paper to mold the dough into a smooth roll. Place waxed paper-covered roll in an airtight container; freeze 30 minutes or until firm, or refrigerate overnight. , Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet. Unwrap and roll each roll of dough in pistachios. Cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1/2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 6-8 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Cool slightly on pan. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, orange juice and butter until smooth. Spread over cookies. If desired, sprinkle with additional pistachios. Let stand until set.