Pistachio Cookies [gluten free]

Whenever I go on holiday or for a short break, I prefer to go to a different destination each time. There are simply so many wonderful places to visit and there are only so few days of holiday.  But I have some exceptions from this rule and Rome is one of them. I love this city, I could walk there for hours every day and it really doesn’t matter to me that I have already seen some of the places there several times.

While we were wandering around Rome a few years ago, we came across a bakery. It was really small and not fancy at all but the biscuits on the display looked really appetizing and - as we checked later – they tasted divine.  We ended up going there almost every day, we also recommended it to everyone who was going to Rome. Oh, I didn’t mention this was also Julia Robert’s favorite cookie place when she was filming “Eat, Pray, Love” in Rome.

So whenever we went to the Eternal City, this little bakery was a staple point to visit, almost like Fountain di Trevi or the Colosseum.  And then last year we found out it was not there anymore. Supposedly it moved to a different location but we never found it… We have missed all their biscuits so much that I knew I would have to try to recreate at least the favorite one: pistachio cookies. I adapted the below formula from an Italian recipe for almond biscuits. They are probably not the same as the original recipe, but I can assure you they taste wonderfully of pistachios and Rome.  

INGREDIENTS (for approx. 25 cookies):

250g pistachio nuts,

150g icing sugar,

2 egg whites,

extra icing sugar for coating.

METHOD:

1. Process the pistachio nuts in a food processor until you get “pistachio flour”.
2. Add the icing sugar and stir.
3. Whisk the egg whites with the electric mixer till stiff.
4. Gradually add the egg whites into the pistachio and sugar mixture; stir till all ingredients are combined and you end up with a sticky dough.
5. Let the dough rest for 12 hours in a fridge.
6. Preheat an oven to 160 Celsius degrees.
7. Form small balls from the mixture (approx. walnut size), coat them in icing sugar, place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and flatten slightly.
8. Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes, the cookies shouldn’t get golden so they remain soft inside.

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