Gluten Free Crispy Pistachio Cookies

I was asked by a friend to bring gluten free pistachio cookies to a dinner party, usually the gluten free cookies I make don’t contain pistachio however I was just in the market and brought half a kilo of them and wanted to get them into the batter, this was challenging but the outcome was totally worth it.

The idea for these cookies is coming from the French pastry world, from the macaroon family, with a big difference, the batter in these cookies is very light and runny so the cookies almost have no body, just enough to keep their shape.

The pistachios

Adding the nutty pistachio flavor to these cookies is in 2 forms, the first one is by grinding pistachios into flour and the second addition is coming from the pistachio paste added to the mixture.

When added a store-bought pistachio paste make sure you taste it before added to the  batter, in some versions they are very sweet, making a pistachio paste at home is the preferred method as well as the most delicious way of consuming this paste, not to mention the cheapest…by far.

When making the pistachio flour the pistachios are baked for about 10 minutes, this will extract their aroma and intensify their flavor, it’s not a must but highly recommended.

Gluten free pistachio cookies – the batter

similar to a macaroon preparation, the egg whites are whisked until firm but unlike the macaroon when we try to get them as firm as possible here I whisk them into soft peaks in order for the cookie to be runny and flat.

For your comfort, I recommend using a piping bag, it is easier to get the batter in a clean way to the baking sheet, however it is also possible to spoon a small portion.