Pistachio Pudding Cookies

Pistachio Pudding Cookies make a sweet green treat with a unique flavor combination. An easy recipe to make using a box cake mix, the white chocolate and pistachio goes so perfectly together, that these cookies disappear almost as quickly as you can make them!

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Photo by Madison Myers

allrecipes.com Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

This was my first attempt at making Biscotti, and it wasn't as scary as I expected! It was pretty easy to make and it turned out great! This is not the same as the biscotti you buy at the grocery store. This biscotti won't break your teeth! I love it! The cranberries and pistachios work very well together, and I took it a step further by dipping some of them in white chocolate because, let's face it, white chocolate makes everything BETTER!

It's true!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
• Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
• Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Use a large, sharp knife and push down on knife to cut. Sawing the knife will break the biscotti, so be careful. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.
• To dip in white chocolate, melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips with a tablespoon of oil and melt slowly, stirring constantly, in saucepan on stove top or in the microwave. For the microwave, melt on medium power in 30 second intervals stirring well in between until melted. Add more oil if too thick. It is always important to melt slowly and stir often so the chocolate doesn't seize up. Dip biscotti as soon as chocolate is melted.

Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cupcakes

My sweet hubs has developed a sweet tooth! He never used to have cravings for sweets.  When we were a young couple I was working full time and didn't cook or bake all that much.  About once a month I would make brownies, and that was a real treat!  

Come to think of it, we really didn't eat at home all that much back then. I was working the 2nd shift at the police department, and Don was going to fire school during the day.  He used to meet me for dinner - we would often meet at the Pizza Hut for a quick bite on my dinner break.

  

It wasn't until Madison was born that we started eating at home.  

Madison started helping me in the kitchen at a very young age. She took to it right away - it doesn't seem like all that long ago she was standing on a chair flipping pancakes! So it was no surprise when she started baking and creating original recipes. Madison really knows how to make a yummy cupcake, and don't get me started on her pies!! 

 Being the good dad he is, Don happily tasted all of her creations!  This MUST be how he developed a taste (addiction) for sweets! The past couple days the cupboards have been bare and each night I hear "What do we have sweet to eat?"  I got tired of hearing it, so today I made some cupcakes for him. I'm sure they pale in comparison to Madison's Oreo Cupcakes, but beggars can't be choosers!

I did this despite the fact that I am trying to cut out the carbs to lose some pounds!  That is LOVE!  I think he appreciated the effort though, he snatched up a cupcake as soon as they came out of the oven! 

Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cupcakes

Cupcake

1 box Yellow Cake Mix

3 whole Eggs

1/2 cup Oil

3/4 cup Buttermilk

3/4 cup Sour Cream

1 Vanilla Bean split and scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)

1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Pistachios, shelled and chopped

Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (makes 20-24 cupcakes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and seeds from vanilla bean. Mix well. Add cake mix and mix until just combined. Gently mix in mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops bounce back when lightly pressed. Cool completely.

Icing

4 ozs Cream Cheese

1 stick of Butter (1/2 cup)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped for the seeds (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)

1 cup Confectioner's Sugar

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter about 2 minutes, until light and airy. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add sugar about 1/3 cup at a time and mix well. Ice cupcakes and decorate with chopped pistachios.

Pistachio Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

This has been quite a week! I am so glad it is Friday! Yesterday, the needle on the stress meter went through the roof when I got numerous automated calls from the college that there was "an incident"!

Madison attends college in Savannah, Ga.  Her school campus is the Historic District in the city of Savannah - the school has over 70 buildings within the city! The incident was a gunman initially on the loose and then barricaded in one of the upscale, landmark restaurants right down the road from Madison's dorm!

Of course, the District being 1 square mile, everything is right down the road 

The school acted quickly and locked down all buildings advising students to stay inside. The police, too, shut down much of downtown to keep people away from the area.  

SWAT surrounded the restaurant; sent a robot inside; then entered the building and apprehended the perp (HA - love cop show talk)

Even though I was in contact with Madison and knew she was safe, I was still shaken by this event.  Thankfully, no one was hurt and all is back to normal. Just a little excitement to get the kids ready for finals!

With the stress level at an all-time high, I had to get some relief!

So, I took some time out and baked....ahhhhhhhhhhh

I made these Pistachio cupcakes that are the prettiest shade of green - Perfect for St. Patty's Day!

They make me smile (green is, after all, my favorite color)

I was going to frost them with a chocolate butter cream...as suggested in the recipe, but I had a couple strawberries on hand and decided they would be more refreshing with a strawberry cream cheese frosting (not to mention how pretty the pink and green look together) Boy was I right! These little pieces of heaven are definitely refreshing!

Hard to eat just one! The fresh strawberry taste comes through and pairs nicely with the slightly nutty flavor of the cupcake - yummmm yummmm yummmm

Cupcake

1 box White Cake Mix

1 box Pistachio Instant Pudding (3.4 oz)

4 Eggs

1 cup Buttermilk

1/4 cup Oil

1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract

3/4 cup Sour Cream

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan (makes about 24)

Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and sour cream together in a good sized bowl.  Add cake mix and pudding; combine until just incorporated.  Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 full and bake for about 15 minutes.  The tops of the cupcake should spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and let cool.

Frosting

1 cup Butter, softened

8 ozs Cream Cheese

1 lb Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/4 cup chopped Strawberries

In a bowl of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy - about 3-4 minutes. Occasionally scraping down bowl. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until incorporated. Add vanilla and mix until smooth. Add strawberries and beat until they are chunked up really well. If you are piping the frosting onto the cupcakes you will need to get these really chunked (is chunked a word? hmmmm...I guess it is now) up so they don't clog up your tip...learned that the hard way!  Put frosting in freezer for about 20 minutes to stiffen up if needed. Then frost cupcakes as desired. Store these in the fridge.