Bin's Blog

Ingredients

Batter

• 72 grams (72 g) almond flour
• 80 grams (80 g) powdered sugar
• 38 grams (38 g) pistachio powder
• 3 egg whites aged overnight in the fridge and brought to room temperature (can NOT use pasteurized egg)
• 1/8 teaspoon (1/8 tsp) cream of tartar (this is critical IMHO because it gives structure of the shell)
• 50 grams (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1 pinch salt

Pistachio Ganache

• 100 ounces heavy cream
• 100g white chocolate
• 50g pistachio butter, salted

Instructions

Batter

1. Mix together the almond flour, powdered sugar, pistachio powder and salt, put the mixture into a food processor, blend for three times to make sure the mix is very fine.
2. Whip the egg whites on low speed and slowly add the sugar in one third of the quantity each time.
3. Once the egg whites turn white and you can see some lines forming in the surface from the whisk, add cream of tartar, whipping on medium until soft glossy peaks form.
4. Add the vanilla to the meringue during the soft peak stage. Then continue whipping on medium-high until you get stiff peaks that start gathering and bunching on the inside of the whisk.
5. Add 1/3 of almond mixture to the meringue. Fold spatula under the batter and around the edges and then cut through the center until almond flour is mixed in. Continue with the rest of the almond flour and folding until homogenous.
6. Gently press the spatula on top of the batter while turning the bowl to take out some of the air from the meringue. Continue folding around the outside edge until the batter forms a ribbon and moves like lava (look at how lava moves! did not get it the first time :D).
7. Meringue is ready when it forms a ribbon off the spatula and the batter that settles almost dissolves all the way back into the rest of the batter but still leave a bit of a line.
8. Place the parchment paper (or the template) onto the sheet pan. Pipe small rounds about 1″ in diameter. I use a silicone template that I bought.
9. Drop the pan onto the table 5-6 times from about 5″ above the table to release bubbles. Use a toothpick to remove big pockets of air trapped under the surface.
10. Allow to dry, uncovered until a crust forms on the surface. About 30 minutes – 2 hours or until a dry film develops over the surface of the cookie. Use finger to test, it does not stick and it feels elastic. This step is extremely important as if the shell does not form properly, you get cracks easily.
11. Bake at 300ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. If not quite brown baked, bake for an additional 1 minute. Cooled cookies should pull away from the parchment paper without sticking. If they do stick, they were not baked enough.
12. Let cool fully before removing from the parchment and filling with ganache. Cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Shells can be frozen for 6 months in an airtight container.

Ganache

Place all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and microwave for one minute. Let sit for 5 minutes then whisk until smooth. Heat for another 15 seconds if not fully melted. Place into the fridge for 20 minutes then whisk until smooth. The texture should be like peanut butter.