STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

26. "Birthday Surprise" (2 cookies, 3 variations)

Okay, dudes, those were rather a "rash action" as I realized on the morning of July 17, that "tomorrow" it's my friend Heinz's birthday... and I had to send a birthday present to my cousin Joey who lives in Berlin (and turned 31 on the 23rd), too.

I nearly choked on my morning coffee.

Thank God, it was grocery day, and I wanted to go shopping in the afternoon. Therefore it couldn't things that are too complicated to do.

After browsing my bake book selection, I chose

– Pistachio-Cranberry-Chocolate Chip-Cookies from a collection (of a German foodie mag) of "Brookies" – a NY "fusion" bake of cookies + brownies

and

– Pizzicotti => kind of a Sicilian marzipan, which I got out of Daniela & Felix Partenzi's Dolce Italia (Sweet Italy, only in German)

Especially the latter are a treat because you can make 2 out of 1 cookie – by dividing the dough into "orange + lemon"! Isn't that neat?

Granted, the pizzicotti-dough best rests overnight, BUT: they're made in a jiffy.

So enough babble: off to the kitchen!



Serves:

– 16 pistachio-cranberry-chocolate chip cookies Recipe stated 10-12

– 28 pizzicotti – 16 "orange" + 12 "lemon" Recipe stated 24


Prep Time:

– 45+ minutes pistachio-cranberry-chocolate chip cookies

– 30+ minutes pizzicotti; PLUS resting in the fridge overnight


Degree of Difficulty: Easy




WE NEED


Pistachio-Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies


70 gr / 2.5 oz. soft butter
50 gr / 1.75 oz. brown sugar
50 gr / 1.75 oz. confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk
Seasalt
100 gr / 3.5 oz. flour Spelt here; try to find organic as conventional American flour is high on pestizides
1/2 tsp baking powder
50 gr / 1.75 oz. floured pistachios
40 gr / 1.5 oz. dried cranberries Were out so used fresh ones. Sauerei but fruity-yummy, too
3 tbsp (/ 1 oz.) chopped pistachios
40 gr / 1.5 oz. white chocolate chips Were out so I took bittersweet / 70% cocoa




Pizzicotti

400 gr / 0.9 lb. floured + blanched almonds
200 gr / 7 oz. sugar
3 egg whites
100 gr / 3.5 oz. confectioner's sugar
1 Orange
1 Lemon



WE DO


Pitachio-Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies


1. Beat butter + sugars until creamy, then mix in egg yolk and 1 pinch of salt. Mix flour with baking powder and floured pistachios and whisk into the egg-sugar-butter-mass.

2. Roughly chop the cranberries + (whole) pistachios. Add the chopped pistachios and half each of the cranberries + chocolate chips to the batter, mix well and shape the dough into a ball, which you cover with foil and cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F top bottom heat OR 160°C / 320°F fan/convection. Since my oven has the function, I used the former Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Take 3-4 cm / 1-1.5 in portions of the dough and shape them into balls which you press flat lightly and put on the baking sheet with some distance between them.

4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. The dough shall still be soft.

5. Directly after removing the cookies from the oven, gently press the remaining chopped pistachios + cranberries into the cookies. Be QUICK! After about half the cookies, I could barely do that anymore

6. Let the cookies cool some, then remove them from the baking sheet and let them cool off completely on a wire rack.

(Store them in a cookie tin.)




Pizzicotti


1. Zest lemon + orange.

2. Thoroughly mix almonds + sugar, then add the egg whites and knead until you've got a still slightly wet but coherent and homogeneous dough. Sounds complicated, but you'll know. Trust me, I did too.

3. Part the dough into two equal-sized portions and knead in the respective zest.

4. Cover / Wrap them with/in foil and store them in the fridge overnight.

5. On the next day, prepare a little bowl with the confectioner's sugar and line two baking sheets with baking paper.

6. Take about 2 cm / 1 in big dough portions. The LEMON ones are shaped elongated, the ORANGE ones into balls. Roll them in the confectioner's sugar until they're thoroughly coated and set them on the baking sheets.

6. Bake them for about 12 minutes at 150°C / 300°F – until they just start to gain color and it smells of almonds.

7. Let them cool on a wire rack and store them in the fridge so they don't get brittle.



Enjoy!