These incredibly soft, subtly green sugar cookies are flecked with bits of chopped pistachios and decorated with a drizzle of candy coating and a flurry of sprinkle snow.
Yield: about 40 (3-inch) cookies
Cook Time: 10 minutesminutes
Total Time: 2 hourshours
Ingredients
3cups/ 375gall-purpose flour
2teaspoons/ 8gbaking powder
½teaspoonkosher salt
1cup/ 226g(2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾cup/ 100graw shelled pistachios, finely chopped in a food processor (you can also use pistachio flour)
green food coloring
8ounces/ 226ggreen candy melts or white chocolate
2teaspoonsunflavored vegetable shortening
Sprinkles, for decoration
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (two if you have them) and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until evenly incorporated.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed.
Add egg and beat until incorporated, followed by vanilla and pistachio extract. Dip the tip of a pairing knife in food coloring and add to dough; mix until well incorporated. The color will mellow and lighten when you add the flour, so add more food coloring as needed. You're looking for something about the color of fake mint chip ice cream.
Add chopped pistachios and dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated and dough comes together in a crumbly mass. Knead together to form a ball. At this point you can start working with the dough immediately, or if it seems a bit soft, cover and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes as needed.
On a lightly floured surface (I like to use waxed paper), roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Keeping the dough nice and thick will ensure soft cookies as opposed to crunchy ones. Cut into desired shapes, and arrange on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch of space between cookies.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms just begin to brown; if your baking pans are lighter weight you might want to check them after about 6 minutes or so, just to be sure they don't brown too much (tip: try doubling up lighter weight baking sheets to give the cookies more insulation and keep them from getting too brown). For crunchier cookies, bake for a minute or two more.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
To decorate, melt Candy Melts with shortening using the Wilton Candy Melting Pot. Alternatively, you can use a double boiler or a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 50% power in 30 second bursts, stirring between each interval, until Candy Melts are melted and smooth. Turn the melting pot to the Warm setting to keep it soft and fluid as you work.
Use a fork to drizzle melted Candy Melts over cookies. Immediately sprinkle with white nonpareils (you want to get these stuck on before the Candy Melts harden). Use tweezers to place a few green ball sprinkles on each cookie. Let sit until Candy Melts are completely set.
Cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.