Pastry chef/teacher Cindy Salvato developed these pistachio-cherry icebox cookies for Yankee in 2004, and they remain a favorite, both for their exceptional flavor and for their festive red-and-green color scheme.
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Yield:
about 4 dozen cookiesIngredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, softened, plus more for pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg, separated
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
1 8-ounce container candied red cherries, roughly chopped
1/3 cup coarse or sanding sugar
Instructions
Using a standing or hand-held mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg yolk in; mix well. Add the flour and pistachios; blend on low speed until just combined. With a strong spoon or your hands, mix the cherries in. Divide the dough in half, and roll each piece into a log about 12 inches long. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350° and set a rack to the middle position. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease lightly with butter). Pour the coarse sugar onto a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil.
Brush the egg white lightly over the surface of the log; press and roll the log into the sugar. Using a sharp knife, slice the log into 1/2-inch rounds; transfer to the cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container or freeze.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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