Pistachio Cherry Nougat Bites Recipes

CHERRY-PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg fully before adding the next. Add the vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Stir in the dried cherries and pistachios. Cut the dough in half and place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Shape into 2 logs, each about 12 inches long.
• Bake until just starting to brown at the edges, about 20 minutes. Cut each log on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet. Bake on the first side for 5 minutes. Remove, turn the biscotti over to the second side and bake until the biscotti are crisp, an additional 5 minutes. Let cool.

PISTACHIO-CHERRY NOUGAT BITES

Steps:

• Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, letting foil extend over edges of pan by 2 inches. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey, and 3⁄4 cup water. Cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 260°. While sugar mixture cooks, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and reserved vanilla bean seeds at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. When sugar mixture reaches 260°, remove from heat. With mixer on low speed, carefully and gradually add sugar mixture to egg whites. Add extracts. Increase speed to medium-high; beat 12 minutes. Add pistachios and cherries. Beat 3 minutes. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Top with almonds, pressing gently. Let stand 8 hours. Lifting edges of foil, remove mixture from pan. Cut into 2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

CHERRY NOUGAT BITES

Steps:

• Combine condensed milk, vanilla essence and sugar in a mixing bowl.
• Stir in powdered milk and cherries with a wooden spoon until combined.
• Turn mixture onto surface lightly dusted with icing sugar.
• Knead until smooth.
• Divide mixture in half.
• Roll each half between your palms into a rope 2.
• 5cm thick.
• Dust with extra icing sugar.
• Refrigerate until firm.
• When firm cut into 2.
• 5cm pieces.
• Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

EASY PISTACHIO NOUGAT

Steps:

• 1. Entirely cover an 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil.
• 2. Put a large pot on medium high heat and add the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water and cook until the mixture reaches the hard-ball stage (120°C).
• 3. While mixture is cooking, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• 4. When sugar syrup has reached 120 degrees, remove from heat and gradually pour ONE QUARTER of the mixture into the egg whites, continue beating until the egg whites hold their shape.
• 5. Place the pot with the rest of syrup on the stove and continue cooking over medium high heat until the mixture reaches 150 degrees (hard-crack stage).
• 6. Do not turn the mixer off, slowly add the rest of the syrup into the egg mixture and continue beating until the mixture is thick and stiff.
• 7. If using add a few drops of food coloring to turn a delicate green color. Next add the softened butter and beat until the candy is very thick and satiny.
• 8. Now add the nuts and mix until well combined, spoon into the pan, press down gently, making it smooth and even. Leave to set at room temperature.
• 9. When ready to serve cut into small squares and enjoy.

PISTACHIO PINWHEELS

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they're very finely ground but not yet forming a paste, about 25 second-long pulses. Transfer the ground pistachios to a small bowl and set aside.
• To the same food processor (no need to wash after grinding the pistachios), add the butter and confectioners' sugar, and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the yolks and almond extract, and process until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the flour and salt, and pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until you have a stiff, uniform dough.
• Transfer two-thirds of the dough (about 10 ounces/240 grams) to a medium bowl and add the almond flour to the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to work the almond flour into the dough until you have a uniform mixture.
• Scrape the almond dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Pat it down with your hands into a thinner layer, then place a piece of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough between the sheets of parchment into a slab measuring about 12-by-8 inches and ¼-inch thick. (Uncover the dough and use a small offset spatula to shape the dough into a rectangle if necessary.) Slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and refrigerate the slab until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the ground pistachios to the food processor with the remaining dough and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly blended and the dough has taken on a green color, about 7 pulses. Set aside at room temperature while the almond dough chills.
• Remove the almond dough from the refrigerator and plop tablespoon-size pieces of the pistachio dough across the surface of the slab. Use the offset spatula to spread the pistachio dough across the length of the slab in an even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the longer sides. Starting at one of the longer sides and using the parchment paper to help you, roll the dough into a tight spiraled log. Wrap the log in parchment paper and transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until the dough is very firm, at least 1 hour.
• When ready to bake, arrange two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Sprinkle the demerara sugar across a cutting board. Remove the log from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll across the board in the sugar, pressing down very firmly as you roll so the sugar adheres. Continue to roll and press until the entire log is coated. Using a sharp knife, shave a thin crosswise slice off of each end so you have straight sides with the full spiral exposed. Cut the log in half crosswise, then cut each half in half again to make quarters, and cut each quarter in half again for eighths. (This ensures even, equal slices.) As you cut, roll the pieces on the cutting board to prevent the pinwheels from gaining a flat side and losing their round shape. Cut each piece into 4 equal slices to make 32 cookies.
• Divide the cookies between the two prepared baking sheets and space them evenly. Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks until they are golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheets front to back halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

CHERRY, PISTACHIO & COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9 in/24cm diameter ring cake tin with butter.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and mix in the eggs. Spoon the batter into the pre-greased tin and smooth down.
• Remove the pits from the cherries-you can do this with a cherry pitter or by just pulling them apart and popping the pits out with your fingers. I like to do this over the cake tin, so that any juice drips onto the cake and adds color. Drop the pitted cherries onto the batter and sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp/20g of sugar and the roughly chopped pistachios. Bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes, then turn the cake around and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, until the cake between the cherries goes all golden.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin, as it needs time to settle, then gently remove by running a knife around the edges. Covered well, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week (not much chance of that happening), but for the best flavor, allow it to return to room temperature before eating.

EASY PISTACHIO-CRANBERRY NOUGAT

Steps:

• Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Spray parchment and dust with milk powder. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add marshmallows and cook, stirring, until melted, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in milk powder, then cranberries and pistachios. Transfer to prepared pan, pressing or spreading to evenly fill. Lightly dust top with more milk powder. Let stand until set, at least 2 hours.
• Use overhangs to lift nougat out of pan. Cut as desired (we made strips slightly less than 1/2 inch wide, then cut them in half again to create about 4-by-3/4-by 1/2-inch pieces). Store between layers of parchment or waxed paper at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

PISTACHIO-GOAT CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Toast nuts in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes; chop finely.
• Combine goat cheese and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Drop mixture by heaping teaspoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Roll into balls, then roll in chopped nuts.
• Refrigerate, tightly covered, up to 1 day.