Pistachio Wedding Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl cream butter. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add in vanilla In a medium bowl combine flour, pudding mix and salt. Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients until combined. Divide dough in half and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from plastic wrap and make tsp size balls. Place on baking sheets and press down on the balls slightly spacing them about 1 inch part. Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes. While cookies are still warm toss them in remaining confectioners' sugar and set on wire rack until cooled completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 3 heavy large baking sheets. Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups butter and 1 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and salt, then pistachios and cherries. Using spatula, stir in all flour (do not overmix dough).
• Shape dough by generous tablespoonfuls into football-shaped ovals. Place on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until bottoms just begin to color, about 16 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 10 minutes before coating.
• Pour generous amount of powdered sugar into medium bowl. Working with 5 or 6 warm cookies at a time, add cookies to bowl of sugar; gently turn to coat thickly. Transfer cookies to sheet of waxed paper. Repeat to coat cookies with sugar again; cool completely. do ahead Can be made 4 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Make dough:
• In a small bowl whisk together egg and extracts. In a food processor pulse together flour, pistachios, sugar, and salt until combined well (do not finely grind nuts). Add butter in pieces and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg mixture with motor running and pulse just until dough forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a work surface and with heel of hand press dough together just until smooth and cohesive.
• Form level teaspoons of dough into balls and arrange about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. With your thumb gently make an indentation in center of each ball, pressing down almost to bottom.
• Bake cookies in batches in lower third of oven until bottoms are pale golden, about 12 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets on racks 5 minutes and transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely.
• Make topping:
• In a small heavy saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth, and remove pan from heat. Coarsely chop (keeping separate) pistachios and cranberries.
• Working with 10 cookies at a time, spoon 1/4 teaspoon chocolate mixture into each indentation and sprinkle pistachios and cranberries over chocolate centers. Let chocolate centers set 30 minutes. Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature, 10 days.