Strawberry Pistachio Cookies with Oats and White Chocolate
This spring feels strange, it doesn't seem to start. Most of the time it's either too cold, too grey, or too wet, I'm more in the mood for cozy stews and hearty pies munched away on the sofa than the springy treats that I usually crave in May.
I'm impatient (not just in the kitchen), I tend to rush to the next season with hungry excitement. I find it hard to wait for the right ingredients to appear at the farmers' market for all the dishes that I already picture in my head. So, I guess I should be thankful for the unpleasant weather, it helps me to stick to the actual season - spring with a wintery touch. Unfortunately, the unusual frosty temperatures at night are a tough burden for the farmers. Their produce suffers, which narrows their harvest dramatically. The white German asparagus that I tasted wasn't as thick and tasty as in the past years, strawberries - by far - aren't as sweet. It reminds me that we're in nature's hands. It's an important reminder, showing us that we live in a fragile system that we easily tend to forget about.
Although I'm not too impressed by the strawberries' taste, they are totally fine in a cookie. Accompanied by nutty pistachios, smooth white chocolate, and a handful of oats, I turned them into the best cookies that my kitchen has seen in a while. They are sweet, soft, and so addictive. Have a bite, close your eyes and you can feel summer.
Strawberry Pistachio Cookies with Oats and White Chocolate
Makes about 20 cookies
plain flour 200g / 1 1/2 cups
rolled oats 50g / 1/2 cup
fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon
baking powder 1 teaspoon
butter (soft) 130g / 1/2 cup
granulated sugar 150g / 3/4 cup
vanilla pod, scraped, 1/4
organic egg 1
white chocolate, roughly chopped, 100g / 3 1/2 ounces
unsalted shelled pistachios, roughly chopped, a small handful
fresh strawberries, ripe but not soft, cut into small pieces, 100g / 3 1/2 ounces
Set the oven to 175°C / 350°F (preferably convection oven) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Take 1 heaped tablespoon off the flour and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining flour, oats, salt, and baking powder.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg for a few minutes or until fluffy. Add the egg and continue mixing for about 1 minute until well combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate and pistachios.
This will make it easier to mix in the strawberries: Sprinkle and mix the strawberries with the heaped tablespoon of flour. Crumble and spread the dough on a baking sheet. Spread the floured strawberries on top of the dough and, using your fingers, gently (!) fold in the berries. Don't worry if it looks loose and messy, mind not to squeeze the berries too much. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of dough for each cookie and gentle form a ball slightly smaller than a golf ball. Spread the dough balls on a dish that's safe to keep in the freezer, then put the cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or until hard but not frozen. Spread the cookies on the 2 lined baking sheets, mind to leave enough space between the cookies, they will expand in the oven.
Bake, one baking sheet at a time, for about 13-15 minutes or until golden but still slightly soft. After 5 minutes, using a fork, flatten the cookies softly. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before you transfer them onto a wire rack.
