Yes you heard me right, peony pistachio thumbprint cookies. Yes, again, that’s PEONY, as in everyone’s favourite spring time flower. A few years ago, the mister’s aunt sent me a recipe to make peony jelly. I never had enough peonies in my garden, so I was very thankful when she sent along a jar of hers. The taste is delightfully sweet, but it’s the colour that steals the show. I mean, just look at that hot pink!
At first I enjoyed the peony jelly on scones and toast. Then Christmas came around and along with it, a cookie baking frenzy, and the peony pistachio thumbprint cookies were born!
I’ve since ran out of the jelly, but our new home is FULL of peony bushes. They’re just about ready to pop and I’m hoping one is hot pink. If so you bet I’m going to make a few jars of this jelly, specifically for these cookies.
You can use any thumbprint cookie recipe, and any peony jelly recipe you find out there. What really makes these cookies so stunning and unique are the ingredients (hello peony and pistachio), and the combo of hot pink and bright green. So let’s get making.
Cookies adapted from Butter with a Side of Bread
Peony jelly recipe from Daily Dish Recipes
- 1 cup softened butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- Peony jelly
- ½ cup pistachios
- plastic wrap
- light cloth or zip plastic bag
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- Sift in flour and salt and mix until incorporated enough so that the dough comes together into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove from fridge and form dough into 1-inch balls. Place onto the cookie sheet leaving a couple inches between each one. Create a crater in each dough ball either using your thumb or the back of a ½ tsp spoon.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes
- Meanwhile, de-shell your pistachios and remove the outer skin. Discard any dark nuts - you'll only want to use the bright green parts. Place nuts in a cloth or ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin or any other item.
- Remove cookies from the oven. If the indent is too shallow you can always press again to get a deeper crater.
- Fill each cookie with jam and bake again for 3-5 minutes, or until the jam is slightly melted the the edges are golden brown.
- Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle the crushed pistachios on top. Place cookies on a cooling rack until cool.
- Repeat for the rest of the dough.
Tips:
- Hot pink peonies will give you this rich colour. And while you could just go to the shop and buy a bouquet there, I wouldn’t recommend it. You have no idea what they’re sprayed with.
- I know it’s a pain, but to get that intense pop of green, it’s really important to discard that outer skin. I sometimes had to shave it off and lose half the nut in the process.
