Author: petebakes

gourmet magazine put out a feature on their favorite cookies – one for each year from 1941 to 2008. i’ve got this crazy notion that maybe i can tackle every. single. one. not all at once, mind you, or even in order, but i’d like to keep it in my brain as a “someday” goal. i’ve gotten a few suggestions for which i should bake next via the magic of twitter (seriously, why aren’t you following me yet?), but wanted to start off with this classic from 1988. apparently when i was 4, pistachio tuiles were the best thing going. at the time, my favorite food was probably hot dogs. or a good grilled cheese. or baloney sandwiches. come to think of it, not much has changed.

tuiles get their unique shape after they bake. you have to scoop them off the baking sheet with a spatula really fast and then lay them over a cylinder to cool. there’s a 10 second window to get this done, so if they stick to the sheet or cool too quickly, put them back in the oven for a few more seconds to loosen. things i loved about this recipe: i happened to have all of the necessary ingredients in my kitchen at the time, they take about 10 minutes to make from melting the butter to pulling them out of the oven, and they’re basically sweet pistachio potato chips. how great is that? oh yeah – and they taste awesome. use them as a scoop for a big bowl of ice cream (pistachio flavored?) or be classy and enjoy with a glass of wine (port?).

i’m not sure if it’s the weather, but lately i’ve been craving christmas cookies. it actually snowed here a few days ago, and since i’ve associated being cold 24/7 with stuffing my face with festive baked things, it’s been a delicious week. although rugelah are decidely jewish, we always had them on christmas morning with breakfast as a treat.

i don’t mention my day job very often, but i’m privileged enough to work a place where i can use my passion for food every day. i don’t want to get into much more detail, but one of my perks is occasionally getting free cookbooks, like  joan nathan’s The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. i’m especially excited because her challah recipe was my first yeast bread.

does this look like a lot of extra filling? it is. i accidentally halved the dough recipe but kept the filling recipe the same, so not only were the cookies stuffed, there was a bunch of spill-over. luckily, when sugar coated raisins and nuts get baked, the result is an incredible caramelized trail mix (minus any redeeming health benefits). i’ve been eating it by the handful since.

i’ve had trouble in the past with doughs that need to be refrigerated and then rolled out later, but this one seemed to hold together perfectly. it didn’t stick to the table when i rolled it out, and it puffed and crisped every so slightly and perfectly in the oven. don’t like raisins and nuts? try any kind of jam or preserves and whip up a batch. then eat them in front of a roaring fire with big cup of hot cocoa to stave off freezing. spring, get here NOW!