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Pistachio sticks are small piped petit four batons built on a rich pistachio paste, softened with butter and lightened with a little whipped egg white. They bake to a short, crumbly bite with a faintly crisp edge and a soft green colour, and the kirsch and vanilla lift the nut flavour so it tastes clearly of pistachio rather than simply of nuts.

I use them the way any small nut stick is used: piped in neat lengths for petit four plates, for the edge of a pastry display, or broken and pressed around the side of a cake as a crunchy garnish. They keep well in a sealed tin, so a batch made ahead is always useful when a dessert needs something green, nutty and hand-made on top.

Ingredients

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Weight Per Unit: 461
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: flat baking tray of piped petit four sticks
WEIGHT
(grams) 		ALTERNATIVE METRIC INGREDIENT IMAGE CONDITION
A 450 15.8 ounces Pistachio Pistachios are small green kernels with a mild, sweet, buttery flavour. For baking they are used shelled and unsalted, and are usually ground with some of the recipe's sugar so the nuts turn into a smooth paste instead of releasing their oil.
shelled, unsalted 		finely ground
B 250 8.8 ounces Butter Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted 		room temperature
C 125 4.4 ounces Sugar Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
D 63 2.1 Egg Whites Egg White Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks. The primary natural purpose of egg white is to protect the yolk and provide additional nutrition for the growth of the embryo (when fertilized). Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which is dissolved 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins). Unlike the yolk, which is high in lipids (fats), egg white contains almost no fat, and carbohydrate content is less than 1%. Egg whites contain just over 50% of the protein in the egg. Egg white has many uses in food (e.g. mousse) and also many other uses (e.g. in the preparation of vaccines such as those for influenza). room temperature
E 2.5 Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, is a byproduct of winemaking. It is known as cream of tartar in context with cooking. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid (a carboxylic acid).


In food, cream of tartar is used for:

  • Stabilizing egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume
  • Stabilizing whipped cream, maintaining its texture and volume
  • Anti-caking and thickening
  • Preventing sugar syrups from crystallizing
  • Reducing discoloration of boiled vegetables


Additionally it is used as a component of:

  • Baking powder, as an acid ingredient to activate baking soda
  • Sodium-free salt substitutes, in combination with potassium chloride

A similar acid salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, can be confused with cream of tartar because of their common function as a component of baking powder.
F 1 Salt Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
G 25 2 tablespoons Kirsch Kirsch is a clear, unsweetened brandy distilled from sour cherries and their stones. It is not sweet like a cherry liqueur; it carries a dry, almond-like cherry perfume and is the traditional flavouring of Black Forest cake.
H 5 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
921

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Method

STEP ACTION DETAIL CONDITION
1 Pre-heat Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and line two flat baking trays with baking paper. Oven fully up to temperature before the sticks go in
2 Grind Grind A (pistachios) with about half of C (caster sugar) in a food processor, pulsing in short bursts. A fine, slightly oily green meal; stop before it heats up and turns to butter
3 Cream Beat B with the remaining C (butter and caster sugar) until pale, then work the ground pistachio mixture through it. Smooth, soft and evenly green
4 Flavour Mix in F, G and H (salt, kirsch and vanilla essence). If you want a stronger colour, add a few drops of green food colouring at this point. Evenly coloured, no streaks
5 Whip Whip D with E (egg white and cream of tartar) in a clean bowl. Soft peaks, not dry
6 Fold Fold the whipped whites into the pistachio mixture in two or three additions. Light but still firm enough to hold a piped shape
7 Pipe Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain or small star nozzle and pipe sticks about 6 cm long onto the lined trays, leaving space between them. Even thickness so they bake at the same rate
8 Bake Bake at 180°C (355°F) for about 10 to 12 minutes. Set on top with lightly golden edges; the centres stay pale green
9 Cool Leave the sticks on the tray for a few minutes, then lift them on the paper onto a rack to cool completely. Firm and short when cold; they soften if lifted while hot
10 Store Keep the cooled sticks in an airtight container. Crisp and dry; they go soft in humid air

Important Notes

This half batch makes about 920 g of mixture, enough to fill two home baking trays with piped sticks. The chef's sheet works to about 125 g of mixture per serving portion, so the batch gives roughly seven portions of petit four sticks. The mixture is rich in nut oil, so pipe it as soon as it is mixed while it is still soft; if it firms up, warm the bag briefly in your hands. Store the baked sticks in an airtight container away from moisture, or freeze the piped raw sticks on a tray and bake them from frozen with a minute or two extra. The sheet also lists pistachio green colouring with no set amount; use only a few drops, as the nuts already give a natural colour.

Tools & Arrangements

Kitchen scales, food processor, stand mixer or hand mixer, mixing bowls, spatula, piping bag with a plain or small star nozzle, two flat baking trays, baking paper, cooling rack, airtight container

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