Pistachio Pinwheel Biscuits

I finally discovered the easiest way to have delicious biscuit treats in my kitchen - give a lovely person a fabulous cookbook for their birthday and they make them for you ! Perfect! This recipe is from "Dessert Person" by Claire Saffitz and a big Thank You to an even sweeter Claire for cooking and bringing these nutty swirls along to share!  

Hope you enjoy these too - Colleen

Preparation       45 min plus 1 - 1 1/4 hours refrigeration 

Baking               15 - 20 minutes

Makes                32

Ingredients

90 gram  (2/3 cup) shelled pistachios
170 gram butter, room temperature, diced

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons icing sugar 

2 large egg yolks   - only yolks needed in this recipe

1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract

1 cup Plain Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups Almond flour

1/2 cup Demerara sugar (for rolling)

Method

Finely grind pistachios in a food processor until gravelly but NOT fine or a paste. Tip into a small bowl.

Re-use the food processor to mix the butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.

Add yolks and almond extract pulsing until smooth and light.

Add flour and salt and barely pulse to a stiff dough, scrape down sides as needed.

Remove 2/3rd of dough to a medium bowl and use a flexible spatula to combine added almond flour (into medium bowl)

Tip the medium bowl dough onto a piece of baking paper about 36 cm long. that is on a baking sheet - a tray without 3 edges, so you can roll per below.

Pat the dough into a thinner layer and top with another piece of baking paper.  Roll the dough until it is about 12x8 inches or 30x20 cm and about 1/4 inch thick.

Uncover the dough and leave on tray, refrigerate until firm approx 15 min.

The remaining 1/3rd of dough is still in the food processor. Add the ground pistachios and pulse about 7 times until blended and green. Set aside at room temperature.

Remove the slab dough from fridge and plop tablespoon size blobs of pistachio dough across surface of dough.  Use an offset spatula to spread pistachio dough across in an even layer but leave a 1/2 inch border on the 2 longer sides. (If desired, have the pistachio dough a little thinner at the ends for the final 1/2 inch of it's layer, helps with the swirl effect)

Start at one of the longer sides using baking paper to assist. Roll dough into tight spiraled log. Wrap the rolled log in baking paper and refrigerate until dough is firm, approx 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180 ℃ and line 2 large rimmed baking trays with baking paper.

Have an upper and lower oven rack in place in the oven.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over a cutting board.

Remove log from fridge, unwrap and roll across the sugar, pressing down firmly as you roll so sugar adheres to entire log.

Use a sharp knife and cut the thinnest slice from both ends to neaten and expose the swirl pattern.

Cut the log in half across the middle crosswise, then cut these in half again to make quarter logs. then cut all logs in half again to make eighths - this makes for even slices. 

NB before each cut - roll the  log pieces on the cutting board to keep them round.

Cut each of the eighth pieces into four slices so you will have 32 biscuits.

Place the biscuits evenly over the 2 trays with space to spread slightly.

Bake on upper and lower oven racks - halfway switch and also rotate trays.

Bake until golden around edges approx 15 to 20 minutes in total. Check regularly so they don't overbake.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets.

Enjoy!   Colleen ... and Claire .... and Claire!