Makesabout 3 dozen cookies
- Active time:1 hr
- Start to finish:3 hr
December 2008
Inspired by the Persian fried-turnover cookies called ghotab, food editor Shelley Wiseman used a simple dough to enfold fragrant candied orange peel and pistachios. Her method for candying the peel is very straightforward, and the results—tender and fresh-tasting—are so much better than the store-bought stuff. The flaky baked pastry, generously coated with confectioners sugar, pairs nicely with the chewy-crunchy filling within.
For sweet pastry dough
-
2 2/3
cups
all-purpose flour
-
1/4
cup
granulated sugar
-
1/2
teaspoon
salt
-
2
sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-
2
egg yolks
-
3
to 4 tablespoons ice water
For filling
-
1
large navel orange
-
1/2
teaspoon
salt
-
3/4
cup
granulated sugar
-
3/4
cup
water
-
1/2
cup
coarsely chopped pistachios (2 1/4 oz) for coating
-
About 1 cup confectioners sugar
Make dough:
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Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolks and 3 tablespoons water with a fork and stir into flour (or pulse) until incorporated.
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Gently squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn’t hold together, stir (or pulse) in 1 tablespoon more water. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
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Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and divide in half. Form each half into a 4-inch square. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make filling:
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Cut off peel, including white pith, from orange with a sharp knife and finely chop. (Reserve fruit for another use.) Put peel in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then fill with water. Add salt and bring to a boil, then boil, uncovered, 10 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve.
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Bring granulated sugar and water (3/4 cup) to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Add peel to syrup. Gently simmer, uncovered, until peel begins to turn translucent and syrup is reduced to about 2/3 cup, 20 to 30 minutes.
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Drain peel in fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, reserving 3 tablespoons syrup. Stir together peel, reserved syrup, and pistachios. Cool to room temperature.
Make cookies:
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Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Roll out 1 piece of dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle. Cut out 16 to 20 rounds with cookie cutter.
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Put a scant teaspoon filling on each round, then brush edge lightly with water and fold pastry over filling to form a half-moon. Press edges to seal. Shape each into a crescent by pushing a finger against middle of flat side.
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Bake 1 inch apart on baking sheet until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to a rack to cool 2 minutes. Toss warm cookies, a few at a time, in confectioners sugar to coat generously. Cool completely.
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Repeat with remaining dough (cool baking sheet and line with fresh parchment). Reroll scraps once for extra cookies if desired.
Cooks’ notes: - Dough can be chilled up to 1 day or frozen 2 weeks. Thaw in refrigerator.
- Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.
- We’ve also got a web-exclusive recipe using the leftover egg whites.
