Monday, December 7, 2009

Cookbook #42 Martha Stewart Cookies

An entire cookbook dedicated to cookies...this is the perfect Christmas cookbook. In truth, I'm guessing that every recipe in this cookbook is on Martha Stewart's website, but here the editors of Martha Stewart Living have divided it up according to cookie type; light and delicate, soft and chewy, crumbly and sandy, chunky and nutty, cakey and tender, crisp and crunchy & rich and dense. I'd say that's the perfect way to classify cookie recipes.

Up next in the Christmas baking was Pistachio Tuiles. The ingredient list is minimal and the recipe is simple. It's a bit time consuming because you can only bake 6 on a sheet but otherwise it was easy peasy.

Martha's instructed method for making tuiles is to drape them over a wooden spoon.


My preferred method was to roll them around the spoon. Fun to make, and they were indeed not only light and delicate, but perfectly crunchy and delightfully nutty and yummy little suckers.



Pistachio Tuiles
from Martha Stewart Cookies

2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, finely chopped in a food processor
Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk sugar, egg whites, and salt in a medium bowl until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in butter, then flour. Stir in pistachios.
Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat. Place a long-handled wooden spoon on a clean work surface; prop up each end on a metal spoon to raise it slightly (you will use handle of wooden spoon to form tuiles).
Drop teaspoons of batter onto baking mat, spacing about 2 inches apart; flatten into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Bake until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 30 seconds.
Working quickly with one cookie at a time, use an offset spatula to lift cookies from sheet and drape them over spoon handle. (If cookies become too crisp to work with, return to oven until pliable, about 1 minute.)
Let cookies cool slightly, 20 to 30 seconds, then remove from handle; press sides together to close. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.
Tuiles can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.

1 comment:

Lynn said...

I swear you must enter my thoughts, all though, you had nice things to say about Martha. Me? Not so much.

Having said that, these cookies look really interesting. I am glad that you bought the book, so now all I have to do is come here and go along with your choices for baking cookies. Since you said they were easy peasy, then I will try these. They do look good.