Lemon Pistachio Shortbread

It seems as if, somehow, I blinked and it became December. November went by like a blur. I did one quick blog post at the beginning of the month and became so consumed with prepping to make pies for thanksgiving and packing to move, and then the actually making of the 1001 pies (yes, really), attending multiple thanksgiving dinners, and actually moving 2 days later that it seems I was far too busy to blog about anything, let alone get a good night's rest.

Now that thanksgiving is over and there is a bit of a lull before the Christmas rush . . . now that I am settled into my new apartment (yay!) . . . now that I FINALLY have my regular Tuesday off . . . I have a bit of time to rest. Resting for me involves sitting on my couch for some quiet time. Nothing goes better with quiet time than a cup of coffee or tea. And nothing goes better with coffee or tea than these delightful little shortbread cookies, flavored with lemon to kick-off citrus season.

I'm going to go keep the promise to myself to go rest up! And make a new promise to you guys to not wait an entire other month for another post :) In the meantime, enjoy these light little cookies. They are delightful.

Lemon Pistachio Shortbread

makes about 4 dozen small cookies

1 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (containing xanthan gum)

1/4 cup ground pistchios (you will need a bit more chopped pistachios for the top)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

juice and zest from 1/2 small lemon

1/4 cup white chocolate pieces

chopped pistachio pieces, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. 

Remove from mixer and place dough on a lightly floured (I generally use white rice flour) surface. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out shapes with a small cookie cutter. 

Place cut-outs 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes, just until cookies start to become golden around the edges.

 Remove cookies from sheet and cool completely on a wire rack.

To finish, melt chocolate in the microwave in a plastic bag at 20 second intervals, kneading the bag gently in between. Cut a small corner off of the bag and drizzle chocolate across the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Allow chocolate to set before serving.