Chocolate Dipped Pistachio Cigars

Description

Source: I'm Dreaming of a chocolate christmas - marcel desaulniers

The no-smoking zone does not apply with our pistachio-studded, chocolate-dipped cigar. Rather, this dainty cookie makes a heavenly treat with 1⁄4 cup of tea after all the presents have been wrapped. The recipe for this cookie is obviously simple, with very few ingredients, effortless preparation, and quick baking time. What will take patience and practice is rolling the baked cookies into cigars. That is why I suggest baking only one sheet of 4 cookies at a time—once the cookies exit the oven you will need to work quickly in order to roll them while they are still warm. They harden once they start to cool, making rolling impossible. But don’t forget that you may put the too-hard cookies back in the oven for a few seconds to soften them and try again. The aphorism “practice makes perfect” applies with this confection. Note that the cookies will appear paper-thin while baking—and that’s the way it is! The rolled cookies—without the chocolate—may be kept in a tightly sealed plastic container for several days. Place parchment or wax paper in between the layers. Dip the cookies in chocolate and refrigerate just prior to serving.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 level tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1⁄4 cup shelled and skinned pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Place the corn syrup, confectioners’ sugar, flour, and vanilla in a medium bowl, and then pour in the melted butter.
3. Use a rubber spatula to stir until smooth.
4. Add the chopped Pistachio|pistachios and use the spatula to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
5. Using 1 heaping teaspoon of batter for each cookie, portion 4 cookies about 3-1⁄2 inches apart widthwise and lengthwise on each of 3 nonstick baking sheets (no need for parchment or wax paper).
6. Bake only one of the baking sheets at a time (keep the other 2 baking sheets at room temperature) on the center rack in the preheated oven for 12 to 13 minutes until uniformly light golden brown (rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time).
7. Allow to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet before handling.
8. Use a small offset spatula to lift one cookie from the baking sheet; flip the cookie so the pistachios are on the outside, and using your fingers, roll into a cigar shape.
9. Place on a room-temperature baking sheet and repeat the rolling process with the 3 remaining cookies.
10. If the cookies become too hard to roll, pop them back into the oven for a few seconds; that will soften them enough to be rolled.
11. Repeat with the remaining sheets of cookies.
12. Melt the Semi-sweet chocolate|chocolate in a double boiler or in a small glass bowl in a microwave oven.
13. One at a time, carefully dip about half the length of each cigar into the chocolate.
14. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the double boiler before placing the cigar onto a baking sheet lined with clean parchment paper.
15. Once all the cigars have been dipped in chocolate, refrigerate for a few minutes to firm the chocolate before serving.

YIELD: MAKES 12 COOKIES