Pistachio Swirled Blondies

Pistachio Swirled Blondies are just plain addictive.

These blondies are not your normal blondie. They are swirled with pistachio paste studded with even more pistachios and just a joy to eat. One of my favorite nuts to snack on are pistachios. I’ve spent many an hour cracking open the shells and eating them hunched over a little bowl to catch the shells. You know what I mean if you eat them a bunch! Their fantastic flavor is worth all the effort of individually cracking each shell before eating them.

People have been enjoying these nuts for more than 9,000 years. Pistachios originated in the Middle East and are actually related to cashews. Fun fact: they are one of only two nuts mentioned in the bible, almonds being the other one. Pistachios have been popular since civilization began. The Queen of Sheba even greedily made it illegal for commoners to grow them and made them grown only in the royal orchards for her and her royal entourage.  Nowadays, of course, you can find them in your local store. And for even more convenience you can find them shelled, roasted and salted. Though I will admit, I actually prefer to eat them, cracking each shell as I go. It’s sort of like a diet aide. It slows you down and makes just eating handfuls more difficult. Of course, for baking, you will need to find them shelled.

Over the years, I’ve come across pistachios in various baked treats. I still fondly remember this bakery in the town where I lived in New Jersey that made pistachio filled croissants that were incredible. I have tried to make a recipe from Bake Magazine for a pistachio babka. The flavor was incredible, though that recipe was very flawed. There was too much filling, and it went everywhere! (someday, in my long list of recipes I want to play with, I swear I’ll get to fixing that recipe!) I’ve never seen pistachios in a blondie that showed off their fantastic flavor. It always seems they are paired with something else, especially white chocolate. I find that white chocolate is too sweet and seems to overpower these nuts’ delicious flavor.

Well, I made my own, and man, are these Pistachio Swirled Blondies fantastic! They have a wonderful flavor, and they cook up beautifully. I wanted to show off the flavor of pistachios, not anything else, except vanilla. And the ground pistachio paste running through these blondies are just perfection. I did blanch the nuts to rub off their outer skin to lessen the brown color and remove some of the nuts’ salt. But I will say, don’t buy the unroasted versions as you won’t get the roasted flavor that is part of how delicious the nuts can be. The blanching is another step but really not that much more. You don’t have to rub off all the skins, either, just rub them between paper towels, and much of the skin will come off. There’s no need to be perfect at it. These blondies can be cut into either 9 or 16 squares depending on the size of the cuts. If you need a square 9 X ( inch pan this one from USA pans on Amazon is fantastic.

It seems like there is some hope in the air. Finally, progress being made, although slowly, and we have a bit of reason to be excited for the world’s future, as these times are not just any one country’s problems. As always, please think of others in what you choose to do. Hopefully, bring some joy to those you encounter. We all need a smile now and then.

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Pistachio Swirled Blondies

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Pistachio Swirled Blondies. Golden blondies swirled with pistachio paste and studded with even more pistachios.

Course: Baking, Brunch, coffee time, cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: blondies, pistachios

Ingredients

For the pistachio Paste

• 1 1/2 cup shelled pistachios roasted and salted
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

For the Batter

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Butter or coat with cooking spray a 9 X 9 inch square baking pan.
3. For the Pistachio paste.
4. Bring a small pan of water to boil. Add the 1 ½ cup of pistachios and let boil for 1 full minute.
5. Drain the pistachios and let cool briefly on paper towels to get any excess moisture off the nuts.
6. Using your fingers and the paper towels, rub off the outer skins of the pistachios. It may take a bit of effort, but it is worth it. You don’t have to be perfect, its more for the color.

7. Separate out 2/3 cup of the pistachios and set them aside.

8. In a food processor or blender, process the remaining pistachios until very finely ground. Add the powdered sugar and the water and process until very smooth, and it makes a paste. This will take about 5 minutes.
9. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla and process until well blended. You should end up with a little more than ½ cup pistachio paste.
10. To make the batter.
11. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl or 4 cup measuring cup and set aside.
12. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown and white sugars. Beat until well creamed and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
13. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla, beat until well blended in, and the mixture is again fluffy for about a minute.
14. Stir in by hand the flour mixture.

15. Mix in the reserved 2/3 cup of whole pistachio nuts.

16. Spread the batter into the 9 X 9 inch prepared pan.
17. Drop the pistachio paste on top of the batter in large spoonfuls and use a butter knife or even your clean fingers to make big swirls. Do not over-swirl–you want big ribbons of Pistachio Paste.
18. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the brownies are golden brown and set on the edges and the center has puffed up. The middle will still be pretty doughy, but they will continue to cook as they cool!
19. Once the pistachio blondies are cool, cut into squares.

Recipe Notes

These pistachio blondies will keep for about a week covered or freeze them for 6 months or so.