125g/1¼ cups shelled pistachio nuts
75g/⅓ cup golden caster/superfine sugar
125g/½ cup butter
100g/½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla paste
200g/1½ cups plain/all-purpose flour
1½tsp baking powder
150g/5½oz dark/bittersweet chocolate, chopped
A generous pinch of flaky sea salt
EQUIPMENT
Food processor
At the end of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her new friends are given four types of cookies and three types of cake to feast on. In honour of their battle with the Wicked Witch of the West, I'm suggesting these – filled with delightfully green pistachio nuts. A whole batch cooling on a rack is a welcome sight in the kitchen, but alternatively you can bake just a couple at a time, and eat them straight off the tray, your nose in a book, and the lights dimmed to deter any trick-or-treaters.
Makes 16
1. Blitz the pistachio nuts with a tablespoon of the golden caster sugar, until they form a thick paste.
2. Beat the pistachio paste and butter until soft, then add the remaining sugars. Continue beating until light and creamy, when the sugar no longer feels grainy between your fingers. Add the egg, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Fold in the flour, and baking powder, followed by the chocolate.
3. Split the dough into 16 pieces, and roll into balls. It will be quite sticky, but you want it to be. Place on a freezer-proof plate, ensuring the balls aren’t touching, and place in the freezer for at least an hour, or overnight if that’s easier.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/400F/gas 6 and transfer the frozen biscuit dough onto lined baking sheets, giving them space to spread. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, until puffed and risen. They will be very soft. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, and then on a wire rack. The biscuits will collapse and harden as they cool, but will remain chewy in the middle.