After making the Orange Almond Cake, there was an abundance of pistachios left over that needed using up. So what else was I to do but make pistachio shortbread?

This does require an oven, but it is for such a short time that you’ll be forgiven for using your oven while it’s still humid and hot outside. Besides, who doesn’t like a delicious shortbread?

These biscuits are soft, crumbly, and not overtly sweet. The dark chocolate just adds an extra flavour to the combination, so they can be made without dipping them in chocolate (but why wouldn’t you?).

Another beautiful thing about these biscuits is that they only use 6 ingredients, so you don’t have to worry about a long shopping list or buying things that you only need a teaspoon of.

When you separate the dough to roll into logs, even though the recipe says to split it in half, you can see that I didn’t quite manage that. It really doesn’t matter in the slightest, just try to make them the same thickness so that the biscuits will all bake evenly in the oven.

I would highly recommend using a good quality chocolate to dip the biscuits in, as it makes a massive difference to the overall flavour of the biscuit, but feel free to experiment with orange or mint chocolate too.

Ingredients

115 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 grams caster sugar
1 large egg
200 grams plain flour
85 grams pistachios, de-shelled
100 grams dark chocolate

1. Place the pistachios in a small bowl and cover with water. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the pistachios and pat them dry with a paper towel. Leave them on the paper to finish drying.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on a medium-high speed until fluffy and pale.
4. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
5. Add in the flour and mix well. Then beat in the pistachios (you can use a wooden spoon or your mixer for this part).
6. Sprinkle some dough over a clean work surface and gently knead the dough for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half, roll into logs roughly 4cm thick and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
8. Take the dough out of the fridge, and remove cling film. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into rounds about 1cm thick.
9. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
10. Gently heat a small pan of water over a low heat. Place a heat-proof bowl, or double boiler, over the water. Add the chocolate to the bowl and allow to melt. Once melted, stir until fully smooth.
11. Dip half of the cookies into the melted chocolate and allow to set on a wire rack over baking paper or a baking sheet. Once the chocolate has set, enjoy.