These cookies are the softest and most elegant cookie around. These little beauties are sure to make the Christmas dessert table pop!
Before you begin, be sure to have 3 bowls ready:
- 1st bowl = ground pistachios + brown sugar
- 2nd bowl = dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt
- 3rd bowl = wet ingredients like butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla
- Pulse the pistachios and half of the brown sugar into a fine crumb. Use a food processor for this step.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the wet ingredients together. You’ll use the remaining half of the brown sugar in this step.
- Add the dry ingredients and pistachio mixture to the wet ingredients. The dough will be crumbly at first, but it comes together after a couple minutes of mixing.
- Divide and chill the cookie dough. Divide the dough half, flatten them into discs, and tightly wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Without chilling, the dough is impossible to roll out and the cookies will spread into a massive mess on your baking sheet.
- Roll out the cookie dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the disc of cookie dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into discs. Reroll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all of the dough is used. Repeat this process with the second disc of dough. You’ll have about 64 discs.
- Cut a hole into the center of half of the discs. We’ll call them “donut cookies” because of that center hole. If you like, reroll the scraps of dough to make a couple more cookies.
- Bake. Bake the whole cookies and “donut” cookies on separate baking sheets. The donut cookies take a minute less because of their smaller surface area.
- Dust the “donut cookies” with confectioners’ sugar.
- Fill with jam, then sandwich. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of jam on each whole cookie. Top each with a donut cookie and press down gently to create a cookie sandwich.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (65g) shelled pistachios*
- 2/3 cup (135g) packed light or dark brown sugar, divided
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for rolling out
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 240g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam or jelly (or any flavor!)
- 2 Tablespoons (16g) confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Place the pistachios and 1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar in a food processor. Pulse into a very fine crumb. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and remaining 1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the flour mixture AND the ground pistachio mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. It will be crumbly at first, but will come together after a couple minutes of mixing.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, gently flatten into discs, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill the discs in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than 3 hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. The dough may become sticky as you work, so keep extra flour nearby to use as needed. Alternatively, the dough may crack when rolling out. Wait a few minutes for it to soften back up. The more you work with it, the softer (and easier to work with) it will become. Roll out the disc until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch round or fluted cookie cutter, cut dough into circles. Reroll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with the second disc of dough. You should have about 64 circles.
- Using a 1-inch round or fluted cookie cutter, cut a hole into the center of 32 of the circles. Let’s call these 32 cookies the “donut cookies” because of that center hole.
- Arrange the whole circles and the donut cookies 2 inches apart and on separate baking sheets (because the donut cookies take 1 less minute to bake).
- Bake the whole circles for about 11 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges, and bake the donut cookies for about 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through the bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Dust the “donut cookies” with confectioners’ sugar, then transfer all of the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before assembling.
- Spread 1/2 teaspoon of jam on each whole cookie. Carefully top each with a donut cookie and press down gently to create a cookie sandwich.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.