These are by Gloria Ford, my husband’s cousin, a talented chef and maker of the most ethereal biscuits imaginable (her secret is the rice flour). When she made a batch for a family gathering, I know I wasn’t the only one who asked for the recipe. They are that good! If you want to experiment with spicing, this is the perfect biscuit to do it with, so I have listed a myriad of spice switch ideas.
Ingredients
- Shelled Pistachios 60 g
- Unsalted Butter 125 g, softened
- Castor Sugar 55 g, plus more for dusting
- Green Cardamom Pods 4, seeds ground
- Rice Flour 55 g
- Plain Flour 115 g
- Fine Sea Salt a pinch
Cook It
- Use a food processor or bag and rolling pin to bash the pistachios, aiming for mainly ground with some larger bits for texture.
- In a stand mixer, or with a wooden spoon and a strong arm, cream together the butter, sugar, and cardamom until light and pale. Gently work in both flours and salt just until it comes together. Then mix in the pistachios.
- Tip the dough onto a piece of baking parchment and shape it into a triangular prism (think Toblerone box). Wrap in the parchment and chill in the fridge.
- Heat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Slice the chilled dough into 1/4-inch-thick triangles and spread out on the baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Dust with a sprinkling of sugar while hot from the oven. After a couple of minutes, transfer to a rack to finish cooling.
Spice Switch
In place of the cardamom, you could try any of the following:
- 1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp speculaas
- 3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod
- 2 tsp ground jasmine tea
- 2 tsp ground rose tea
- Pinch of ground saffron, infused in 1 Tbs warm milk
- 1 Tbs fresh lavender flowers, finely chopped
