Pistachio Melting Moments with Lemon Cream

This year, instead of buying presents for family and friends, I decided to bake Melting Moments for everybody. I altered a recipe from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2 so that I could use the pistachio nuts that I've been meaning to cook with from the pantry. The filling is from a Macaroon recipe (which I embarrassingly failed at following, because they turned out very gooey and sticky!)  that combines cream with white chocolate and lemon zest.

I packaged the sweets into cute Christmas-themed boxes, which I put together, using noodle-box-style containers from Wheel & Barrow Homewares, 3-D Christmas stickers from Riot Art & Craft, tissue paper from Kenny's Cardiology and ribbon from Bed Bath N' Table.

For the biscuits (makes 15, filled):
- 175g butter, softened
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup plain flour, sifted
- ¼ cup cornflour, sifted
- ¼ cup ground pistachio, sifted (use about 25g whole nuts and process to fine crumbs in a food processor)

For the Filling:
- 150g good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces
- 100ml cream
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, cornflour and pistachio until combined. 

Place the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle. Pipe 3cm rounds onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for spreading. Cook for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on the trays, before handling.

Piped and ready to be baked!

I love the smell of freshly baked cookies!

For the filling, combine the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan and place over low heat, stirring with a metal spoon, until the chocolate has melted. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the lemon zest, then refrigerate until set.

To assemble, spread the lemon cream on the base of half the biscuits, sandwich together and dust with icing sugar if desired. If you find that your biscuits are still too delicate to handle, place them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up.

Pistachio Melting Moments with Lemon Cream

Handmade giftboxes, waiting to be filled

Packaged and ready to be delivered!