Pistachio Cherry Teacakes

Hello again! I got busy toward the end of last semester, and then went out of the country, but now that I have told more people about this blog, I have great motivation to update :)

So to start, I am going to cheat a tiny bit in order to get back in the habit - a very good one from CL that you can find here. The picture is theirs, too. They call them 'wedding cookies' but I always learned them as teacakes, so take your pick. I admit that, for me, the dried cherries are a bit of a splurge, so if you can find them in a bulk foods section, that would make it easier. I upped the pistachio, used only regular flour and didn't coat them in powdered sugar, because it always makes me cough when I go to eat them. Maybe I could slow down instead, but that would be boring. Be careful when measuring the flour here, to really spoon it lightly into the cup and then level it because if you have too much the cookies will fall apart.

Pistachio Cherry Teacakes
Makes: about 32 cookies Total time: around 40 minutes, but the last 10 is just waiting for them to cool.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsps cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 Tbs ice water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped dry-roasted pistachios

- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in a food processor; pulse to combine.
- Add butter, a few pieces at a time, to processor. Process about one minute or until mixture looks like coarse sand.
- Combine ice water and vanilla in a small bowl/cup, sprinkle over processor mixture (or add through chute, if you have one). Process one minute, or until well combined - but it will still be very crumbly.
- Add cherries and pistachios, pulse until just combined. Put mixture into a bowl.
- Gently press into a level tablespoon, packing with the heel of your hand. (If you don't pack these, they WILL fall apart.) Turn onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue until all dough is used.
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes on baking sheet.

Nutrition info for one cookie (if 32 are made): Calories: 82 Fat: 3.9g Carbs: 9.5g Protein: 1.2g