Chocolate-Dipped Spritz Washboards with Pistachios

Makesabout 3 dozen cookies
  • Active time: 1 hr
    Total time: 3 hr
Although the origins of spritz cookies are fuzzy—some say they come from Scandinavia, while others cite Germany—I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter, because spritzen means to squirt in German, which is how these cookies are formed: The dough is squirted from a cookie press. You can make any shape you want, but we love these old-fashioned washboard strips. If the idea of yet another piece of kitchen equipment deters you, rest assured these cookies are so delicious, you’ll be baking them more than once a year. A cookie press is not expensive and with all the different shapes you can make from the dough, it will more than pay for itself in fun and entertainment over the years for the child in all of us.
Published in Gourmet Live 12.14.11

INGREDIENTS:

  • Buttery Sugar Cookie dough recipe with substitutions and an ingredient elimination
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 7 to 8 ounces good bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped salted pistachios

EQUIPMENT:

  • A cookie press fitted with a 1 1/2-inch-long straight fluted opening; 2 large baking sheets

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make Cookies:

  • Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
  • Make Buttery Sugar Cookie dough as directed, with the following exceptions:
  • Eliminate the egg.
  • Substitute 1 cup confectioners’ sugar for the granulated sugar and substitute 3/4 teaspoon almond extract for the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  • Pack the cylinder of the press with some of the dough. Proceed according to the cookie press instructions. Pipe the dough in 3-inch-long strips onto a large ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Use a paring knife to cut the dough free from the cookie press.
  • Freeze or chill the cookies on the baking sheet until firm.
  • Bake until edges are pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then transfer cookies with a metal spatula to racks to cool.
  • Continue to pipe, chill, and bake more spritz washboards in batches with remaining dough (pipe and chill on second sheet while first sheet is baking; cool baking sheets between batches and use fresh parchment paper).

Decorate Cookies:

  • Melt chocolate (see Cooks’ Notes) in a deep metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove bowl from the pan. Use a folded towel to tilt the bowl slightly, so that the melted chocolate is deep enough for dipping the cookies.
  • Put pistachios in a shallow bowl.
  • Set cooling racks on baking sheets.
  • Dip cookies, one at a time, in chocolate so that it coats about half the cookie on the diagonal, then scrape off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the cookie against the rim of the bowl.
  • Sprinkle the chocolate with some pistachios and arrange the cookies on the racks.
  • Let cookies stand at room temperature until the chocolate has set, about 1 hour.

COOKS’ NOTES:

  • To melt chocolate successfully: Keep chocolate from coming in contact with even the smallest amount of water. Chop the chocolate first, then put it in a dry metal bowl and set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Heat the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until it is smooth. Alternatively, you can heat it in a microwave-safe bowl. Put the chopped chocolate in the bowl and microwave it at 50% power at 30-second intervals, checking it and stirring it, each time, until it is smooth.
  • To best maintain the distinct fluted ridges on the cookies, freeze or chill the piped strips until firm before baking them.
  • Cookies keep in an airtight container in single layers, separated by wax paper, in a cool place, 5 days.

Photo: Chris Gentile

Recipe by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, With Food Styling by Paul Grimes

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