Ingredients
Method
- Cream your softened butter with both sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Using an extra egg yolk is a professional baker’s trick that makes the dough even richer and more tender. Once the wet ingredients are combined, fold in the flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Before you can assemble the cookies, you must prepare the kataifi. Take the shredded dough and break it into small pieces with your hands or a knife. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat and toss the kataifi until it turns a deep golden brown. This should take about five minutes.
- Once the dough is cool, mix it into your pistachio cream. This mixture needs to be chilled so you can handle it easily.
- I recommend scooping small balls of the pistachio crunch onto a tray and putting them in the freezer for twenty minutes.
- Take a large scoop of your cookie dough and flatten it into a disc in the palm of your hand. Place one of the chilled pistachio crunch balls in the center. Carefully fold the edges of the dough upward, sealing the filling inside.
- Make sure there are no gaps or thin spots where the green cream could leak out during the baking process.
- Roll the stuffed dough between your hands to create a smooth ball. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave plenty of space between each one, as these are large cookies and they will spread
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Slide the tray into the center rack and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. You are looking for the edges to be set and golden brown, while the centers still look slightly soft and under-baked.
- As soon as the tray comes out, sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt over the tops. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
The biggest mistake is over-filling the cookies. It is tempting to put a huge amount of pistachio cream inside, but if the walls of the dough are too thin, they will burst. Stick to a small, teaspoon-sized amount of filling for each large cookie. This ensures a perfect balance between the dough and the center.