Cherry Pistachio Mini Pound Cakes

Just another tinker with my favorite pound cake recipe. The cherries dominate but the pistachios add a subtle touch.  Very tasty combination.


Cherry Pistachio Mini Pound Cakes

3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
1 tsp cherry extract (vanilla also fine)
1 cup finely chopped roasted pistachios
1 cup chopped drained maraschino cherries

Mix together butter and sugar until creamy. Add in eggs, two at a time beating a minute after each addition. Add in extract. Mix in flour and cream alternatively, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in pistachios and cherries. Spoon batter into lined mini loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes or until cakes test as done. Cool on racks.

Nut Bars

There is a fantastic post for Homemade KIND Bars over on the Yummy Life blog.  The recipes in this post provided a wonderful jumping off point for experimentation.  Goodness knows I love to change around a recipe....ehehehehe.  I was less concerned with a reproduction than a tasty nut bar so I swapped ingredients out freely.


Nut Bars

1 1/2 cups sliced and toasted almonds
3/4 cup roasted peanuts
3/4 cup roasted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup roasted pistachios
1/2 cup oats
1 tbls toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Dark chocolate for garnish

With the bottom of a cup or a rolling pin crush the nuts up into smaller pieces. Mix nuts together with oats and wheat germ. Set aside.

Line a 9x13 pan with waxed paper.

In a saucepan mix together honey, syrup, salt, and vanilla. Stir continuously over medium heat until temperature reaches 260. Remove from heat and pour over nut mixture. Mix together throughly. Pour into prepared pan. Spread mixture evenly across pan. Place another piece of waxed paper over pan and use a rolling pin, or bottom of glass to compress down. Remove top wax paper. Let cool for about 20 minutes before flipping bars out onto cutting board. Remove bottom waxed paper and cut into bars. Garnish with chocolate.  Any bars not consumed keep nicely in the freezer.

Salted Pistachio Sesame Squares

Sometimes I just want a treat that has an unusual flavor combination....and this one hits the spot.  I changed the crust in the recipe below because the Honey Wheat Thin Stix I gave a whirl didn't really add anything to the flavor over graham cracker crumbs.  I couldn't resist trying them out though...it was like a salty graham cracker...it called to me.   It was fun to try the Stix, but I used almost an entire box to equal one sleeve of graham crackers...it just seemed like a bad trade without a huge boost in flavor.  I might try a crushed pretzel crust at some point though.

The coarse sea salt on the top of the squares is the perfect finish for this treat.  I do love the mix of salty and sweet.  The little dose of salt really just makes makes the flavor pop.  Mmmm....salty goodness.  I had been experimenting with a Pistachio Sesame drop cookie, but the flavor was so delicate it wasn't doing much for me.  This bar cookie does the job though.  ;)


Salted Pistachio Sesame Squares

1/2 cups tub margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
14oz non fat sweetened condensed milk
1 cup pistachios, chopped
3/4 cup brown sesame seeds
1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
coarse sea salt

Mix together the melted margarine, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt.  Press into 8x8 greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Mix together coconut, semi sweet chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, pistachios, and sesame seeds.  Spread mixture over crust and bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool.  Spread melted milk chocolate over top of bars and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Chill to set before cutting into squares.


Another pic of the goodies...

I love the side view of these treats with the green pistachios chunks.  Nothing like a little unusual color to make things interesting.  It's sooooo greeeeen.

Pistachio Citrus Squares

I found this recipe and had to give it a whirl....with some modification of course...ehehehehe. I was a little worried about the amount of filling vs the amount of crust since it came out about 50/50, but the flavor was very nice. I toyed with doing a little lemon/orange glaze drizzle over the top, but I ended up deciding against it. One thing I am definitely going to try down the road is cutting the squares into small cubes and dipping in chocolate...I think they would make a great candy center.


Pistachio Citrus Squares

1/3 cup tub margarine, melted
1 cup pistachios, salted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used one sleeve of crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbls lemon zest
2 egg yolks
1 14oz can non fat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tsp orange zest

In food processor, grind together pistachios and graham crackers. Pour crumbs into bowl and mix in sugar, lemon zest, and melted margarine. Press into greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 10 mins.

While crust is baking combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Stir in lime juice and orange zest. Pour over baked crust and spread evenly. Return to oven and bake another 15 mins or until filling is set. Cool and then chill before slicing into squares.