White Chocolate Apricot Pistachio Blondies

Dried fruit has been a close close friend lately.  My mom sent me an amazing variety of dried fruit and nuts for Christmas, and we dispatched it embarrassingly quickly.  It had dried white and yellow peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums and more.  These blondies are full of dried apricots, white chocolate chips, and slightly salty pistachios.  The pistachios give these bars a little burst of salt to tone down the sweetness of the white chocolate.  

White Chocolate Apricot Pistachio Blondies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup pistachios

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 inch square baking pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper, letting the paper hang over two sides.

In a large bowl, stir together the butter and sugar until well blended.  Stir in the egg and vanilla until smooth.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir until just combined.  Stir in the white chocolate chips, dried apricots, and pistachios until incorporated.  

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the center is puffed and golden. Remove blondies from the oven and let cool completely before cutting.  Makes 16 bars.  

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Orange Pistachio White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I decided to make a Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake the other day.  Everything was going totally great until my five egg whites refused to whip up. I couldn't even believe it.  That has never happened to me before!  I was so irritated.  So I had 5 refuse to be whipped egg whites along with 5 extra yolks that needed to be used sooner rather than later. I was totally wracking my brain on what to make, but then remembered that my cookie list was way long!  So I made 3 batches. Since I've had my eye on these cookies for a while now, they were on the list.  The hint of orange, salty pistachios, rich chocolate and sweet white chocolate are perfect in a crisp chewy delicious cookie.  Original recipe found here.

Orange Pistachio White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
Zest of 1 small orange
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pistachios
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until incorporated.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat until just combined.  Stir in the pistachios, white chocolate chips, and semi sweet chocolate chips.

Drop 2 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are set.  Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool for several minutes on the pan.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Makes about 24 cookies.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Pistachio Raisin Muffins

A battle for Sunday breakfast domination has begun in my house.  For a while now, you have been seeing that my oldest Hungry Puppy has been making lovely muffins and scones for breakfast on Sundays.  Not to be outdone, my youngest Hungry Puppy has been starting to create breakfast items as well (things like toast with strawberry syrup and tootsie rolls.  Because that is what 6 year olds really want for breakfast!).  This morning, my youngest Hungry Puppy got her turn to make muffins (with a little help).  She decided on these pistachio raisin muffins, and they were so delicious!  The muffins were moist and tender inside, and were full of raisins and whole pistachios.  At first, I thought it was a mistake not to chop the nuts, but they were perfect!

Pistachio Raisin Muffins

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Grease 6 jumbo muffin cups, or 12 regular size cups.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, and stir to combine.  Using a fork, or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the raisins and pistachios, then stir in the milk and egg until the mixture is evenly moistened.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Makes 6 jumbo muffins, or 12 regular muffins.

Enjoy!  -Hungry Puppy S, and Cardamommy

Cherry Nut Mudslide Cookies

I have never had good luck with mudslide cookies.  Oh my goodness I have tried several times, and they are always a complete disaster.  So. These were totally not a disaster.  It is a recipe by Jacques Torres on Food and Wine, and they were awesome.  I changed a few things like cutting the recipe in half, switching the unsweetened chocolate for semi sweet, increasing the add ins, and using milk and white chips instead of bittersweet as an add in.  These cookies are tender and chewy, and oh so chocolatey that you can seriously almost feel them melt in your mouth!

Cherry Nut Mudslide Cookies

11 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup +2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup +1 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Place the semi sweet chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.  Let cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar until a sandy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended.  Add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.  Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat until no streaks of flour remain.  Fold in the pistachios, cherries, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.

Drop 2 tablespoon size balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet (for smaller cookies, use 1 tablespoon size balls).  Bake in the preheated oven for 14-15 minutes (9-10 minutes for smaller cookies), or until the tops are slightly cracked.  Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on the pan for several minutes.  Transfer cookies to cooling racks to finish cooling.  Makes about 20 large cookies (about 40 small cookies).

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy