Pistachio Tuiles

I must remind myself that Martha has teams of people developing the perfect looking batch of cookies and that is what goes into her books. I mean if it flops they just make it again because they are not going to waste their time photographing a dud. Since this is no test kitchen, here is the first and most likely last attempt at these tuiles. It was either the french name "tuiles" which means tiles because they look like curved tiles or the fact that they had pistachios in them that beckoned me.

Cameron pronounced they looked more like tacos, but then again he has never been to France. At first glance, they seemed easy enough, but it was all about timing which meant I could have used another pair of hands or two. The moment they came out they needed to cool off enough so you did not get burned, but not long enough to allow them to start getting brittle. Then you must act swiftly and wrap them around the end of a spoon- I would not recommend wood because they inevitably will stick if they are wrapped around too long, if they are wrapped around too short they will fall flat. The whole process was a big guessing game and I hardly was able to produce two dozen let alone six dozen.

P.S. If you do not own a Silpat either do not bother trying to make these or go and buy one- trust me.

Makes about 6 dozen

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, finely chopped in a food processor

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Whisk sugar, egg whites, and salt in a medium bowl until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in butter, then flour. Stir in pistachios.
2. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat. Place a long-handled wooden spoon on a clean work surface; prop up each end on a metal spoon to raise it slightly (you will use handle of wooden spoon to form tuiles).
3. Drop teaspoons of batter onto baking mat, spacing about 2 inches apart; flatten into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Bake until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 30 seconds.
4. Working quickly with one cookie at a time, use an offset spatula to lift cookies from sheet and drape them over spoon handle. (If cookies become too crisp to work with, return to oven until pliable, about 1 minute.) Let cookies cool slightly, 20 to 30 seconds, then remove from handle; press sides together to close. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter. Tuiles can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.