Nutella Pistachio Icebox cookies
For my last official summer night before my first day of school, I invited Yulee over to my apartment. Yulee’s my first discipler and she just graduated from USC with a B.Arch. Right now, she is currently job-searching. Chances are that she’s probably going to leave soon…. so before things got too busy, we came up with a list of things to do. One: to bake together.
I try to think of something that she’d enjoy baking AND eating. Two things come into my mind.
- Nutella
- Pistachio
Since she came back from studying abroad n Italy, she corrects me:
“The correct pronounciation is pi-sta-kee-o!”
I laugh. And I ask her how does Pistachio icebox cookies sandwiched with nutella sound? Her face lits up like a happy child.
And after I pull out all my ingredients and bowls, I ask her to mix the flour and butter together. She slowly mixes it and looks a little uncomfortable. I ask her what’s wrong. She confesses to me:
“Lilly, I’ve actually never baked from scratch before. Last time I made you those red velvet cupcakes, I used cake mix.”
I am shocked. But I laugh and tell her it’s okay and to just mix it so everything is well incorporated and to just enjoy it. We help each other out. She mixes the batter. I take over. She rolls the dough into logs. I wrap it and stick it in the freezer for an hour and at the meantime, watch Amelie together. I slice the logs into 1/4” rounds and spread them onto my slipat and slide the sheets into the oven. Once they are cooled, she spreads the nutella. Before Yulee leaves, we pack them into these cute little boxes I bought for her to bring back to Lu’s apartment.
look how happy she looks :)
Nutella Pistachio Icebox Cookies
(Makes about 30 sandwiched cookies)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsultaed butter, room temp
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/2 C and 2 tbsp all-urpose flour
- 3/4 C chopped unsalted pistachios (or if salted, omit adding salt)
- 1 tsp salt
- Nutella
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat butter ad 1/4 C sugar until light and fluffy. Make sure it’s well incorporated. Add egg and almond extract and beat altogether. add the flour and salt and mix altogether until well-combined. Add pistachios and mix into batter.
- Turn the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half and roll each piece into a log, about 1 1/2” in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and twist the ends tightly. Chill in freezer for an hour or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or slipat. Let one of the dough logs stand at room temperature until it’s soft enough to slice. Roll the dough logs in sugar if desired and slice into 1/4” thick rounds. Place about 1” apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, and flip each cookie halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have cooled to the touch, spread about 1 tsp of Nutella on one cookie and top sandwich it with another cookie. Allow it to cool and enjoy!
