pistachio and white chocolate shortbread cookies

I'm not a big fan of shortbread cookies. I prefer having the soft and chewy type of cookies rather than the crumby sort. This was until a friend of mine introduced me to the combination of white chocolate and pistachio shortbread cookies! They were so good I had to try the recipe for myself.

I love salted pistachios! I love the taste and I love the green colour. I thought the cookies would feel really heavy and sweet with the white chocolate but the saltiness of the pistachios really pair well with the creamy white chocolate.

It's also pretty easy to make with only 4 main ingredients. You don't have to chill them either. They taste great even without the white chocolate and pistachios crumbs. I had heaps of trouble with the dough being too moist and sticky but added a few more spoonfuls of flour and they turned out fine!

They're perfect for a late afternoon or night time snack accompanied with a cup of milk.

Recipe: Pistachio and White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

ingredients:

• 125 grams unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (you can have a little less if you don't want it to be too sweet)
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (some more just in case)
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• a handful of coarsely chopped pistachios.
• a small pinch of salt (if you have salted butter it's okay to leave this out)

what to do: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Beat the butter and sifted confectioner's sugar until well combined.
3. Slowly add sifted flour to your batter till it is just combined.
4. Optional: Lightly roll the dough into a ball on a well floured surfaced. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour or until it isn't that sticky and is ready to roll).
5. Otherwise; Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to about half a centimeter in thickness.
6. Cut out your desired cookie shapes from the dough and evenly place them on a tray lined with baking paper.
7. Bake for about 12 minutes or when the cookie edges begin to turn brown. 
8. Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack. 
9. While they are being cooled, melt your white chocolate chips in a heat resistant bowl over a small pot of boiling water. 
10. Once they have melted, spoon a small teaspoon of the white chocolate onto the surface of your shortbread cookies.
11. While the chocolate has not set, sprinkle the pistachios over the chocolate.
12. Let the chocolate set before storing them away. 

I ended up making about 25 cookies with a 4.5cm diameter cookie cutter when I had only intended to make 11 or 12 cookies with half of my friend's recipe. I'll remember to use a bigger cookie cutter next time.