Pistachio, Lemon-Meringue Cupcakes for my Dad and Brother-in-law

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  While I may not be Irish, I never pass up a reason to celebrate.  I haven't gotten a corned beef on the stove yet, I'm sure it will be happening soon.  As the years have gone by and I have seen so many plans change, lives cut short; I realize there really is no time like the present.

I had other plans for Saturday, but I tossed them aside and buried myself in cupcake making to share with my Dad and Brother-in-law.

Pistachio Cake 

110 grams roasted, salted pistachios (I started with 8 ounces shelled) (reserve leftovers to sprinkle on top of the finished cupcakes) 

7 ounces (200 grams or 14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed 

1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice (or variety of your choice) 

Zest from one Meyer lemon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

5 large eggs, at room temperature 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In the bowl of a food processor, grind the pistachios until finely ground.

Add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and pulse until combined.

Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse a few times.  Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse more if necessary.

Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups lined with liners, making each one about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool completely on a rack. 

Meyer Lemon Curd 

2 large eggs 

2 large egg yolks 

2/3 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice 

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 

Fill a small pot with a couple inches of water and place a heat-proof bowl on top of that and bring the water to a boil. You don't want the bowl touching the water.

Place the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar into the top of the double boiler and whisk until blended. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Reduce the heat until the water is at a gentle boil. Whisk the mixture constantly for seven minutes or until the mixture is thick. Don't let the curd boil.

Immediately strain the curd through a fine sieve set over a medium bowl. Use a spatula to push the curd through and discard any bits. Add the cold butter to the curd and whisk until melted. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Store in the fridge until needed.

This makes about 1 cup of curd, so you will have plenty to use in another recipe if you'd like.

Lemon Meringue Buttercream 

1 cup sugar 

4 large egg whites 

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature, cut in pieces 

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice 

Heat sugar and egg whites in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water until 140 degrees F, whisking constantly.

Pour whites into a mixer bowl and beat on medium speed a few minutes until getting fluffy, then turn mixer up to full speed and whisk until the mixture is cool to the touch of the bowl and resembles marshmallow fluff.

Add butter a little bit at a time while the mixer is running on low speed. Add until all the butter is incorporated. Add the lemon zest, juice, and powdered sugar and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

I combined the Swiss and American buttercream methods to make this icing a little more workable.

*If your icing is too soft, place the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and then whisk more. 

*If your icing is too firm (resembling cottage cheese) the bowl can be heated from underneath slightly with a torch or you can place the bowl over warm water for a few minutes. The butter was too cold and once it warms the icing will get nice and fluffy.

To finish the cupcakes, remove a small amount of the center of the cupcake with a small spoon (I used the small side of a melon baller and that worked great also).  Fill the indent with a spoonful of the lemon curd.  Place the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a tip if you wish and pipe on top of the cupcakes.  Sprinkle the cupcakes with chopped pistachios.  Serve at room temperature.  

Even if you are a big kid you are never too old for a birthday bowling party.  Or cupcakes!  Actually instead of making leprechaun traps, maybe that energy would have been better spent inventing a better cupcake trap.  Just a thought...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Gina

Chocolate-Caramel Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

Something that always makes me happy is the Christmas cookies that flow freely out of my house come December.  It usually takes me a couple of weeks to hunt down containers and supplies.  Once I start baking I won't shut the oven off until I can't inhale the cookie fumes any longer.

Making the cookies is a tradition, a ritual you might say.  Something that brings a sense of peace and order to my little world.  Something that helps restore all of the wrongs that seemed to have crossed my path this year and helps make them right.

I finally got a chance to sit down and pour over recipes and decide what will and what won't make the cut this year.  I always include a few family favs, but I've also been working on some new ones.  I will be attending a cookie exchange lunch soon and just any old cookie won't cut it.

I have to say these cookies sure do have everything going in their favor, a soft dough encrusted with salty pistachios, a tart cherry bite, and sweet subtle caramel covered with a dash of dark chocolate ganache - just to bring them over the top. These just might be a contender for the exchange, but I still have a few others I'm working on.

Chocolate-Caramel Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

Rosemary Caramel

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons water

4" long sprig of fresh Rosemary (leave whole)

1/4 cup heavy cream

Cookie Dough
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, chopped finely
3/4 cup finely ground salted pistachios

Chocolate Ganache
4 ounces dark chocolate (or semi-sweet), finely chopped
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1)  Make caramel:

Combine sugar, water, and sprig of Rosemary in a small skillet and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.  Let cook 5-7 minutes until the edges are starting to turn an amber color.  Turn the heat off and add the cream.  Turn the heat back on and whisk until smooth.  Remove the Rosemary sprig (with tongs, caramel burns are no joke) and discard.  Set aside.

2)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3)  Make cookie dough:

Place butter in the bowl of a mixer or regular bowl and mix until fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, flour, and salt and mix until combined.  Add cherries and mix them in.

Place the ground pistachios in a small bowl and use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon and get a nice round scoop of dough and roll it into a ball in your hands and then roll the ball into the pistachios.  Should get about 25-28 cookies.

Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat and press the ball down in the middle with your thumb leaving an indent.

Bake for 11-15 minutes until just set in the center and the bottom is starting to brown a bit. Use a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon and repress the middle a bit, just be gentle so you don't break the cookies. Let cool.

4)  Make chocolate ganache:

Combine chocolate and cream in a heat proof bowl and place on top of a small pan of simmering water.  Whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.

To assemble the cookies:

If the caramel hardened a bit, put it back on the heat for a minute or so and stir.

Place a 1/2 teaspoon or so of the caramel into the depression on top of the cookies.

Place the chocolate into a disposable piping bag or a large Ziploc bag and cut off just a small amount of the tip. Pipe the chocolate to cover the caramel.

You can place them in the fridge to set up faster or leave them sit for a couple of hours.

Store in an airtight container.

(Well someone had to taste them and make sure they were safe for human consumption?  Didn't they?)

Enjoy,

Gina