Pistachio Stars Linzer Cookies Recipe

Put pistachios in a food processor and process until very finely ground (almost a powder with some small pieces). Pour into a large bowl and add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until combined. Set aside.

Put pistachios in a food processor and process until very finely ground (almost a powder with some small pieces). Pour into a large bowl and add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until combined. Set aside.

Beat in pistachio mixture on low speed just until blended.

Divide dough into 3 portions and place on sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten dough into disks and wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 ºF.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. You’ll need a 3-inch star shaped cookie cutter and a small star shaped linzer cutter or other tiny cutter (about 1 inch diameter). (If you don’t have a linzer cutter or tiny cookie cutter, you can use a large plain tip pastry bag decorating tip. Which will make a small hole in the cookie dough.)Preheat oven to 350 ºF.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. You’ll need a 3-inch star shaped cookie cutter and a small star shaped linzer cutter or other tiny cutter (about 1 inch diameter). (If you don’t have a linzer cutter or tiny cookie cutter, you can use a large plain tip pastry bag decorating tip. Which will make a small hole in the cookie dough.)

Dust a work surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Remove 1 piece of dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust top and bottom of dough with flour.

Roll out dough to slightly less than 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out star shapes using the 3-inch star shaped cookie cutter and place them onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Press scraps together and reroll, cutting out additional cookies and placing them on the baking sheet. Cut out centers of half of the cookies using the star shaped linzer cutter. Bake cookies one sheet at a time, 10 to 13 minutes or until edges are light golden. Let cool on pan 2 minutes then remove from pan with a spatula and onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining dough, returning it to the refrigerator if it becomes too soft to easily work with.

When cookies are cool, put confectioners’ sugar into a small strainer and dust over cookies with cutout tops.

Spread remaining cookies each with 1 teaspoon preserves. Top with cookie tops.