Pistachio Puff Recipes

PISTACHIO CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add egg; beat well. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny., Drop by rounded 1/4 cupfuls 3 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split the puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard the soft dough from inside. Cool puffs., In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Just before serving, fill cream puffs and replace tops. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

PISTACHIO PUFFS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes. , Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until mixture is smooth and shiny. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 400° until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. Split puffs; remove soft dough from inside with a fork. Prepare pudding according to package directions for pie; fold in whipped topping. Spoon into cream puffs.

PISTACHIO PUFF

Steps:

• Mix one small box of dry pudding mix, pineapple and nuts (if using) together.
• Add marshmallows and cool whip.
• Put in a pretty, clear serving bowl.
• Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

SALTED PISTACHIO MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the sugar so it's a perfectly even thickness on the paper right to the edge of the sugar, leaving a border on the paper so the sugar doesn't spill onto the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges start to brown lightly. Watch carefully! Lower the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Just before the sugar is ready, whisk the egg whites on high speed for one minute, until frothy. With the mixer on low, slowly add the hot sugar to the egg whites. (I use a large spoon at first, then pick up the paper and pour the sugar in slowly.) Add the vanilla and continue to whisk on high for 10 minutes, until the egg whites are room temperature. (The bowl may still be warm.) The meringue will be very thick and glossy.
• Using two large serving spoons, scoop 6 very large, messy oval dollops of meringue onto each of two sheet pans lined with parchment paper, spacing them out because they will expand while they bake. Sprinkle the pistachios on top and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (make sure your oven isn't above 250 degrees!), until the outsides of the meringues are crisp but not browned and the centers are still soft. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and set aside to cool.

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.

PEAR AND PISTACHIO PUFF PASTRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Combine pear halves and 1 cup dessert wine in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring wine to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pears are just tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pear halves to paper towels and drain well. Boil pear poaching liquid in saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 7 minutes. Set glaze aside.
• Finely grind 2/3 cup unsalted pistachios and sugar in processor. Add unsalted butter and egg; blend just until filling is combined. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover pears and nut filling separately and refrigerate. Cover glaze and let stand at room temperature.)
• Unfold pastry sheets on work surface; press out folds. Using 4 1/4-inch scalloped round cookie cutter, cut out four rounds from each sheet. Using 3 1/2-inch round from cookie cutter, cut out one 3 1/2-inch round from each of four rounds (reserve 3 1/2-inch rounds for another use); set pastry rings aside. Brush egg glaze over outer edges of four 4 1/4-inch solid rounds. Pierce rounds all over with fork. Top each with one pastry ring. Transfer pastries to baking sheet. Freeze 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and keep frozen).
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake pastries 10 minutes, piercing centers with fork if centers rise. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Spoon 1/4 of nut filling into center of each pastry. Slice pear halves and arrange atop filling, covering completely. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool pastries at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Brush pears with glaze. Sprinkle chopped pistachios around pears. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve.

PISTACHIO FLUFF FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Dump instant pudding into a large mixing bowl. Add pineapple, and mix well. Mix in whipped topping. Stir in bananas, marshmallows, fruit cocktail, and mandarin oranges. Cover, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

CHERRY, COCONUT, AND PISTACHIO PUFF PASTRY CHRISTMAS TREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Drain cherries and reserve juice for another use. Finely chop cherries and place in a bowl with coconut; mix well. Let sit until coconut absorbs excess liquid from the cherries, about 5 minutes.
• Place 1 puff pastry sheet on a clean counter and lightly score a large triangle shape into it, like a Christmas tree; don't cut all the way through. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
• Set aside 2 tablespoons of the coconut-cherry mixture. Spread the rest inside the scored triangle on the first sheet of pastry. Sprinkle with ground pistachios and place the second pastry sheet on top, lining up the triangles. Transfer to one of the prepared baking sheets.
• Cut out the shape of the tree along the triangular score line, and remove the outer pastry scraps. Make horizontal cuts on the tree from the outer edges in toward the middle, leaving about 1 inch intact in the center to resemble a trunk. Gently lift each horizontal strip, making sure to lift both sheets of pastry, and twist it a couple of times to expose the filling.
• Use the puff pastry scraps to cut out a star shape for the top of the tree and a tree trunk for the bottom. Make sure to use both layers of pastry. Fill the trunk and star with the reserved cherry mix.
• Place the star, trunk, and any extra pastry scraps onto the remaining baking sheet. Brush all pastry pieces with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and browned all over, 25 to 30 minutes. Gently lift parchment paper onto wire racks and allow to cool completely before serving, about 20 minutes.