Turkish shortbread cookies with pistachio, Fistikli Un Kurabiyesi from SEBZE cookery book
This delicious, crumbly shortbread cookies, un kurabiyesi, is a national favouite; my mother would make them for her afternoon tea gatherings, bayrams and special occasions when I was a child. You will find them in our pastanes, patisseries in plain, with almond or sometimes with dried fruits in Turkey. They are delicious, enjoyed with Turkish coffee, Turk kahvesi and tea, cay.
I added coarsely ground (or very finely chopped) pistachios to mine – it is nice to feel the texture and enjoy the taste of pistachios, so take care not to ground them too finely. Turkish pistachios, as referred as green emeralds are packed with flavour and we use nuts liberally in our desserts and sweet treats. They add a delicious, fragrant nutty taste. You can use ground almonds or hazelnuts instead of pistachio too. These fistikli un kurabiyesi is a great hit with my family and friends; I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. This recipe is from my new book, SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen, along with 85 other delicious, easy to make Turkish recipes. You can order a copy of SEBZE here, delivered worldwide.
I hope you enjoy this delicious, crumbly Fıstıklı Un Kurabiyesi from my book SEBZE
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem x
- 90 g (3¼ oz/scant ⅔ cup) shelled unsalted pistachios, plus a little extra to serve
- 300 g (10½ oz/scant 2½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 125 g (4 oz/1 cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 250 g (9 oz) unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Coarsely chop or grind the pistachios with a few pulses in a food processor; take care not to grind too finely, as it’s lovely to retain a little texture.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and set aside. Sift the icing sugar into a separate bowl.
- Put the butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat using a hand-held electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth and light. Stir in the icing sugar and beat for another 2 minutes until well combined. Add the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract, and beat for another 2 minutes, making sure everything is combined well. Stir in the pistachios and beat for another minute or two until all combined and turned into a crumbly dough. Using your hands, gently form into a dough ball, place in a bowl, cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and gently shape walnut-sized pieces of dough into round balls with your hands. Each dough ball will be about 3.5 cm (1½ in) in diameter. Place on the baking sheet, with about 5 cm (2 in) between each ball, as they will expand. You should be able to make 25 balls.
- Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 18–20 minutes until the cookies are pale golden; try not to overbake, so that they can retain their crumbly texture and light colour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Once cool, sift over some icing sugar and sprinkle with a little ground pistachio to serve.
No comments yet.