Recalling a TV program of Christmas treat from Delia Smith I remembered that she made some wonderful little cookies, or crackers, with pistachios and parmesan.
Having recalled them I was very tempted to try them, so I did. I found the recipe on Delia Online and I had all the necessary ingredients on hand.
However nowing that they were very small and being aware of my propensity for such things, I decided to double the recipe.
I also decided to simply the recipe by using the processor bowl of my immersion blender to create the dough. Of course the rubbing in method is very easy but using the blender is much quicker.
So, this is a very easy recipe and it doesn’t take much time at all really.
The ingredients list is quite short too: pistachios, parmesan, flour, butter and a little cayenne pepper is it.
The cookies I made are small, bite-sized, but if you wish for larger ones that will work well too but watch carefully and adjust the baking time if necessary.
Chilling the dough, in a log, before slicing helps the sables maintain shape during baking.
I ate rather too many of the sables which tasted so good. They just melted in my mouth and had a wonderfully savoury flavour, with a slight kick.
I will make these sables again in time to enjoy them at Christmas.
Pistachio & Parmesan Sables – Cookies
Course: Biscuits & Cookies, ChristmasDifficulty: Easy60
servings15
minutes13
minutesIngredients
30g(4 tbsp) finely chopped pistachios
80g(1/2 cup + 1 tsp, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) strong white bread flour(plain/all purpose will be ok too)
80g(5 1/2 tsbp+1 tsp) cold unsalted butter, cubed
80g(2 3/4 oz) parmesan, grated
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions
- Mix the cayenne pepper into the flour.
- In a bowl add the flour to the parmesan and then add the pistachios as well.
- Mix those ingredients together and then add the butter and rub it in until the mixture begins to clump( I did this with my processor which only took 30 seconds).
- Squeeze the mixture in your hands to form a dough.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces.
- Form each piece of dough into a log which is about 18cm(7 inches) long.
- Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
- Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.
- Cut the logs into slice which are about 5mm(1/4 inch) thick and place them on the baking trays leaving a gap between each.
- Place the baking trays into the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are beginning to colour.
- Remove the baked sable cookies from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Another very good recipe which uses parmesan is Parmesan and Mixed Herb Crackers