Apricot And Pistachio Shortbread Cookies Recipes

APRICOT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in large mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon until mixture is combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried apricots. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and pat to flatten into a disk. Place in refrigerator 1 hour.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, and roll out to 1/4 inch thick. If dough starts to get too soft, place in the freezer or refrigerator a few minutes. Cut out shapes, as desired, and place on prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Remove from oven, and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cookies will keep up to 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

APRICOT-PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed about 30 seconds or until smooth. On low speed, beat in almond extract, flour and salt until soft dough forms. Stir in apricots and nuts. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. With floured 2 1/2-inch square or round cookie cutter, cut dough into 25 squares or rounds. On ungreased cookie sheet, place squares about 1 inch apart.
• Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in pistachios., Preheat oven to 300°. On a surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. fluted round cookie cutter dusted with confectioners' sugar. Place cookies 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 18-20 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., Spread preserves on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. If desired, combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

ICEBOX SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour, mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in desired mix-ins.
• Divide dough in half; place each half on a piece of floured waxed or parchment paper. With floured hands, gently roll each into a 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Dividing evenly, sprinkle logs with desired coating if using, rolling log (to help coating adhere) and pressing in gently. Wrap logs tightly in the paper, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (To store longer, wrap log and paper tightly with plastic wrap.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap logs; with a serrated knife, slice dough 3/8 inch thick (if dough crumbles, leave at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes). Arrange slices, about 1 inch apart, on baking sheets.
• Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, grind pistachios until fine but not powdery. Divide ground pistachios equally between sanding sugar and flour; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add vanilla and salt, and beat for 1 minute. Add yolks one at a time, and beat until evenly combined. Add flour and pistachio mixture, and mix until just combined. Remove dough, and form into a 4-by-6-inch rectangle; wrap in plastic, and chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper, and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Brush dough with the egg white to moisten. Cover evenly with pistachio-sanding-sugar mixture. Lightly press mixture into dough with the rolling pin. Using a 1 1/2-inch fluted square cookie cutter, cut cookies as close as possible to avoid waste. Place on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake until edges are just lightly golden, about 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

PISTACHIO-SHORTBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, process butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until smooth. Add flour and pulse until a dough forms. Stir in pistachios. Shape dough into two 8-inch-long logs, tightly wrap in plastic, and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set and barely golden at edges, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
• Spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on bottoms of half the cookies, then sandwich with remaining cookies. Store in airtight containers, up to 1 week.