Fennel Pistachio Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak fennel seed in boiling water; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Drain fennel seed. Combine the flour, baking soda and fennel seed; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Roll into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, mix well. Add egg, beat well. Add almond extract, lemon zest and fennel seeds, mix to combine.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, gradually add to butter mixture, beat well. Stir in pistachio nuts, dough will be stiff.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls, place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desited, flatten balls slightly and sprinkle with additional chopped pistachios.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cook slightly on baking sheets, remove to cooling racks and cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

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.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak fennel seed in boiling water; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg.
• Drain fennel seed. Combine the flour, baking soda, and fennel seed; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• Roll into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350-degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar.
• Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Trim any fronds from the fennel and chop 3 tablespoons of them and set aside. Thinly slice the fennel bulbs, discarding the cores. Select a baking dish or heavy skillet, which can go on top of the stove, to fit the salmon. Place it in the oven, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and when the butter has melted after a minute or so, scatter the fennel bulbs in the pan, turning it with tongs to coat with butter. Return pan to the oven for 10 minutes.
• Place the salmon, skin side down, in the baking dish on top of the fennel, season with salt and pepper and dot with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter. Return the pan to the oven. Reduce the heat to 225 degrees. Let bake 15 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium-rare. Turn off oven.
• When the salmon is done, transfer it to an oven-proof serving platter and surround with the cooked fennel. Tent with foil. Place in the turned-off oven with the door slightly ajar to keep warm.
• Place the baking pan on top of the stove on medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and give them a quick stir. Add the lemon juice and wine and bring to a lively simmer. Reduce the liquid to about 1/3 cup. Lower heat and whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter bit by bit. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, remove the fish and fennel from the oven and spoon the sauce over the fish. Strew the reserved fennel fronds over top and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set 2 racks at the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the pistachios, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, salt, and cardamom. Process until the pistachios are the texture of fine sand and there are no visible pieces of pistachio left, 60 to 90 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Mix with a rubber spatula until a thick, paste-like dough forms.
• Using a medium 1¾-inch (#40) cookie scoop or 2 tablespoons, portion out the dough and roll into balls. (The dough will be sticky, so don't fret if they are not perfect balls.) Place the dough balls at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (8 per sheet).
• Bake both sheets at the same time, swapping the top sheet to the bottom rack and bottom sheet to the top midway through baking, until the tops of the cookies crack and the bottoms are just starting to brown, 12 to 14 minutes. (Don't overbake the cookies. They aren't the kind of cookie that browns that much on the top. It's best to err on the side of underbaking for this recipe.) Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before removing with an offset spatula.