Pistachio, lemon and cranberry biscuits

I had some pastry offcuts left over when I made my lemon, pistachio and passion fruit tart for New Year’s Eve.  It seemed too much of a waste to throw such delicious pastry away, so instead I used a mini star-shaped cookie cutter to make lots of tiny biscuits, which I pressed dried cranberries into and sprinkled with sugar.  They were so delicious, I think they’d be lovely to make again on their own, so here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 oz pistachios, toasted and finely ground

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

4 oz plain flour

3 ½oz cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 oz icing sugar

1 free-range egg yolk

1 tbsp cold water

Dried cranberries, to decorate

Caster sugar, for dusting

Method 

1. Begin by toasting the pistachios: heat the oven to 175°C, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the sheet occasionally. Watch carefully as nuts burn quickly.  Set aside to cool.
2. Place the toasted pistachios in a food processor with the lemon zest, and blitz until finely ground. 
3. Add the flour, butter and icing sugar and pulse briefly until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Add the egg yolk and water and pulse again until the mixture sticks together in clumps. 
5. Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead two or three times to make it smooth, then roll out with a rolling pin. 
6. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits, and place them on a lined baking sheet.
7. Press a dried cranberry into the centre of each biscuit, then sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 – 10 mins, or until golden, then leave to cool on a wire rack.