I have been away – physically, emotionally and even electronically from everyone. My apologies to everyone whose mails I haven’t replied yet, whose calls I haven’t picked/returned and my dear Kitchen Trials and its readers (are there any!?) for being away so long.

I guess I bragged a bit too much about successfully completing the month-long April marathon and hence this real long unexpected, unplanned break.

Anyway, here I am and this time I have come back with a sweet treat. I had seen this recipe for Pistachios Cookies in Pavani’s space and bookmarked it immediately. It seemed like a really simple bake at that time. It was only when I started making these, did I realize how wrong I was! The dough wouldn’t come together, the log wouldn’t hold shape and the log would just crumble when I was slicing!

I had given up hope by the time these went into the oven. But once the aroma of sweet cookie filled the house, I hopes began to rise again. I tasted the cookies and oh my god! – It took me right up to the heaven and slowly brought me back to earth. It was just perfect and totally worth the effort!

And that’s all I wanted…a nice cookie for my sweet dad :-)

So, let me celebrate my break with these shortbread cookies, that can be baked plain or with flavours of your choice. I liked the pistachios the best off the three.

I might try it again just to see whether the stars were against me the day I made it or whether the recipe is really tough! ( I would put my money on stars, btw :D).

Recipe Source: Cook’s Hideout

Makes: approx. 3 dozen, depending on the size

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour           :  2 1/3 cups
• Confectioners Sugar     :  3/4 cup
• Butter                              :  200 gms
• Salt                                   :  1/2 tsp

Flavors

• Pistachios                       :   1/3 cup , coarsely chopped
• Cranberries                    :   1/3 cup,

Method:

1. The butter should be at room temperature. If it isn’t, microwave at 40% power for 10 second intervals until it’s not cold anymore.
2. In a food processor, pulse the room temp. butter, sugar and salt. Add the flour and pulse until it all comes together as a ball. For me, the dough was not coming together and finally I ended up adding a few drops of milk and then kneading it softly with my hand.
3. I divided the dough into three. I left one plain, added pistachios to another and cranberries to the last one.
4.  If you are using only pistachios, then triple it and add it to the food processor itself.
5. Now, shape the dough into logs. I found this part also difficult as the dough was breaking a lot for me. But finally I managed to shape them!
6. Take a tall steel vessel with a narrow opening or a cookie tin or a plain bottle with a mouth big enough for the log to go inside. Or cut the log into two to fit in the vessel. Cover the roll with cling wrap or butter paper.
7. Lie the vessel down on the side so that the log rests on the curved portion. This way, the log will retain the round shape. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. These can be frozen up to a month.
8. When ready to bake, get the oven heated to 180C/350F. Cut the log into 1/4 inch slices (or slightly more thinner) and bake in 3-4 batches in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. It’s best to bake only one batch at a time. Bake for 10-15 minutes (until the edges start to brown).
9. Let them cool on a wire rack and once completely cooled, spread 1/2 tsp strawberry jam and sandwich the cookies for a luxury feel or munch on them as such.