I have a confession to make. I am addicted to cookbooks. This time, I'm going to blame Choclette over at Chocolate Log Blog. She wrote an excellent review on Honeybuns gluten-free baking and I just had to buy one! Her custard creams alone were enough to win me over :)
I was browsing through the book and with this month's blog challenges in mind, I stopped at these pistachio pitstops. They are really easy to make and they are gluten free and dairy free! Perfect for the recipient I had in mind. I modified the recipe slightly to include pomegranates (the recipe suggested freeze-dried raspberries) Mine don't look anything like the picture in the book but they were absolutely delicious! This is my first time using fresh pomegranate and I had real trouble getting the fruit out. Does anyone have any tips? I love the bright colour of the pomegranate seeds and will be looking for recipes featuring pomegranate in the future.
I'm entering this to AlphaBakes, a month blogging challenge that I co-host with Caroline from Caroline Makes who is the host for September. The letter is "P" so this is perfect.
I'm also entering it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to cook from scratch using fresh ingredients.
pistachio, fresh pomegranate, honey 
blitz the pistachios, sugar, salt and honey 
my mixture was a little crumbly but there were a few reasonable looking ones how cute do they look?
100g pistachios, toasted
20g light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 teaspoon honey
Fresh pomegranate seeds
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Toast the pistachio nuts - approximately 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
- Blitz the toasted pistachios, sugar, salt and honey until they resemble fine crumbs.
- Scoop out the mixture into balls using a small ice cream scoop. Flatten the mixture slightly before baking.
- Bake for 5-6 minutes until golden.
- Immediately sprinkle fresh pomegranate seeds on top of each cookie, pressing them on gently.
You're just going to have to change your title "Baking and Cookbook Addict". Do hope you like the book as much as I did - it's a great responsibility! Thanks for the mention. These Pitstops sound delicious. Afraid I have no tips for pomegranates - I've always found them difficult.
ReplyDeleteHa ha I think I might have to! The book is great - I really want to try the custard creams.
Deleteno, i'm right up there with you!... anything with honey and pistachios is absolutely alright by me!... think I may be off to buy that book now too!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really good book!
DeleteLove the name of these, they make me giggle. I find the best way to get the seeds out of the pomegranate is to slice it in half and then hold each half (cut side down obviously!) over a bowl, then I wallop the heck out of it with a soup ladle or a wooden spoon. This is how Nigella does it, she seems to have far more finesse about her when she does it on her show, where as I get covered in juice and white bits. Its a good idea to wear an apron ;0)
ReplyDeleteI love the name too! Thanks for the pomegranate tip - will definitely wear an apron as I everything was stained pink from this attempt!
DeleteSuch cute bitesize treats, I love their simplicity. With pomegranates I just slice them in half and pick away. I enjoy the challenge of trying to pick them out!Chele's suggestion sounds much more fun though and probably less time consuming.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I'll have to use pomegranates again so I can try all the different techniques suggested :)
DeleteA very unique treat, Ros - I love the use the pomegranate and pistachio although I've never cooked or baked with pomegranate. I also have a hard time resisting new cookbooks and my wishlist of wants continues to grow ;) Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's my first time using pomegranate and it won't be the last! My wishlist keeps growing and growing... it's scary!
DeleteWhat a curious little treat - they look very pretty though! Sounds like a good book - there's nothing like a recommendation from a friend.
ReplyDeleteThey looked better in the book! I usually trust blogger reviews as they've not led me astray so far :)
DeleteThey look great! Pomegranate can be hard to get off the white membrane. I usually cut it in quarters and place it in a large bowl of cold water. Some drop to the bottom and then you can ease them out under water so that your clothes don't get stained. I tried the Nigella way of whacking the halves and I ended up with red stained clothes :(
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great idea - thanks! Will have to try it next time.
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ReplyDeleteThese little pitstops look perfect for a healthy snack.
I love pomegranates but they are a bugger to prepare. I usually cut it in half and then give each half a squeeze and then pick the seeds out, this does mean that some of the juice comes out though.
They were delicious and definitely healthy. Thanks for the pom tip!
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