Ida, from the beautiful look of that cake, I think you should start a new thread about it so you can tell us how you made it! It looks yummmyy.

Here's a picture of mine.

Jan

Less than an hour after I posted my idea of turning them into brownie sundae type dessert, I gave in to the urge.

You can tell from the size of the pistacio pieces that it is a very small portion.

The cookie bar is about 1" square.
I used plain vanilla icecream because I didn't have any lemon sorbet on hand.
I only used about 1/2 ounce of pistachio liqueur.

It was a delicious mid-morning snack.

Here's mine. They are good even without the lemon but I think the lemon would take the 'almond' edge off my cookies.

Definitely a keeper. - I used the 18x13 rimmed cookie sheet. It was a little bit of a challenge to spread out especially without the metal spatula.

So far, it looks like Jan, Jerry, & Marta have come closest to the intent of Gina's recipe.

Just goes to show that the correct size pan was a major key.

For authenticity, and because I want to do the 'out-of-freezer-coffee-dunking' that Amy spoke of, I am going to have bake this recipe again today in a single batch.

Here's a photo of mine and there are a couple more photos on my blog. I used the size pan called for in the recipe and my bars are not extra thick, but aside from some ragged brown edges that had to be trimmed off, they are wonderful. (And, Amy, you're right those bits are tasty!) I also cut mine on the bias into diamond shapes which turned out nicely. Doing that leaves you with quite a number of odd ends. So I gave away the best looking 3 dozen and kept the rest for myself!

-Krista

Krista,

You said in your blog that you bought a bag of already shelled pistachios. Where did you find them? I searched and searched for them with no success. So, now I definitely need a manicure!

Nancy

I also cut mine diagonally, Krista.
They are in the freezer to take to work tomorrow.
I only baked them 30 minutes, as they were "golden". I like them more cake-like than too crunchy.

Closeup:

Palma, I love your green plating display. It makes the pistachios pop with color!

I baked mine earlier this week and thought they were great. Like Marta, I also forgot to add the lemon. Marta, you're probably right about the lemon taking the edge off the almond-they were quite almondy(which I love though). I used the called-for pan size, which did make them quite thin. I had read from a previous person that they could be dry, so I baked mine just until they started to turn lightly golden-35 minutes. They were not dry at all. I didn't take photos this time-I was trying not to eat many of them, and packaged them up to give to friends as quickly as I could manage! Leaving for vacation this week, so won't be able to participate for the next 2 weeks.

I used 2 9 X 13 pans. But I only had about a quarter teeaspoon of almond extract left in the bottle, so I actually wish they were a little more "almondy"

jan

I did mine on Friday but got the blog updated today (thankfully we have free Internet in the hotel). Brought some with me too for snacking on the train.

You know me, late to the party, but these were baked on Wednesday and now we're just home from Passover in Northern California. I only put about 1/3 on the plate. I used the jelly roll pan, but I will bake them a little less next time, I think I would prefer them moister. I used the lemon and thought it went well with the Amaretto (now I need Deborah for some Amaretto drink recipes since there's all but 1 tsp. in this bottle).

Oh my gosh! Everyone's goodies look so so good. Thank you for great photos. If only I could reach across the screen and pluck one from the plate! What a tempting site! Such a tease. Barb Cabot

Hi everyone!
Sorry this is late - I got home later than expected last night and didn't feel like getting on the computer ...

These bars were easy and delicious! They looked kind of dry, but weren't. Shannon tasted them on Friday and she considered them a hit, too. She said I can send my SSB efforts her way anytime I want.

Question, though: Why does the recipe call for greasing the pan, laying out parchment paper and then greasing that? Seemed like overkill to me.

Nancy, I was lucky enough to find a bag of already shelled pistachios at our local Farmers Market. It was only a dollar more than the ones with shells, so I didn't hesitate!

Kim, I loved your idea of putting the pistachios in a bag and taking a mallet to them.

-Krista

Nancy, our Trader Joe's had several types of shelled pistacios in the bag: raw unsalted (which I used), and dry roasted both salted and unsalted.

quote:

Question, though: Why does the recipe call for greasing the pan, laying out parchment paper and then greasing that? Seemed like overkill to me

The first greasing is to get the paper to stick to the pan. I'm not certain why we needed to do a second greasing. I don't typically grease parchment for cookies although there are some that I do such as oatmeal. It might have been because they were a little dry.

I get mine unsalted and shelled at Global Foods for $5 per pound.

The bars are great days later!!! I saved about 5 and ate 3 today and they were better than fresh baked.

Ida

You know, I think I forgot to do the second greasing.

quote:

Originally posted by Marta:
The first greasing is to get the paper to stick to the pan.

Okay, that makes sense, and is something I'll do again - I always struggle to get the parchment paper to lay flat in the baking pan!