Monday 15 July 2013

Fennel and pistachio cookies


If you read my blog regularly, you'll know that I love creating recipes. Sometimes they work and other times they don't. I usually start with ingredients that I want to use and make it up as I go along. This month's AlphaBakes letter is F. One of the ideas I brainstormed was fennel so I started thinking about flavour combinations that would work. I had some pistachio nuts left over from making my first AlphaBakes entry so I knew I definitely wanted to use those. One of my colleagues at work can't eat sugar but is ok with honey or agave so I started thinking about a healthy-ish, no sugar recipe that incorporates fennel and pistachio and came up with this. There was a bit of experimenting in the kitchen but I think I finally got it right. 

It's quite a soft, crunchy cookie which seems a little dry when you first bite into it but the flavours slowly come alive in your mouth and you are left wanting more. The fennel complements the pistachio very well and the honey added a very subtle fragrance and pleasant sweetness. The wholemeal and spelt flour made it feel healthy with a satisfying crunch. 

As mentioned, I am entering this to AlphaBakes as F is for fennel. It's hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes this month and co-hosted by myself on alternate months. 


I'm also entering this to Made with love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to make everything from scratch. 


As fennel is a herb, I'm also entering it to Cooking with Herbs/Herbs on Saturday hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage



 olive oil, fennel seeds, honey, wholemeal flour, pistachios

 blitz the pistachios briefly until it's coarsely ground. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. 

 top with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios

 



An original recipe by bakingaddict

Makes 26 cookies

200g wholemeal flour
50g spelt flour
80mls honey
60mls olive oil
1.5 tablespoons water
1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
70g pistachios
1 egg


  • Preheat the oven to 170C.
  • Place the pistachios in a food processor and blitz in 10 second bursts until it's coarsely ground. 
  • Set aside approximately 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top of cookies before baking.
  • Add the remaining ingredients into the processor and blitz until you get a dough like consistency - the dough will be quite sticky. 
  • Place a small scoopful of cookie dough spaced apart on a lined baking sheet. 
  • Sprinkle some of the reserved chopped pistachios on top of each cookie and bake for approximately 8 - 10 minutes until it's golden brown at the edges. 
  • Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 


24 comments:

  1. Fennel is a real treat in a biscuit. They sound lovely.

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  2. Love the combination in these cookies, Ros! I'm not quite sure what to expect from the flavor pairing of fennel and pistachio, but I know I want to try it... You're so brave and love the daring choices you make!

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    1. Thanks! I like to experiment at times, they don't always work out but it's part of the fun!

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  3. absolutely divine!... can't believe I didn't use my fennel loaf as an alpha bakes F... totally forgot!... love fennel and these cookies sound simply gorgeous!

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    1. I'm not a huge fan of fennel but these cookies were tasty!

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  4. What a lovely combination. Love this!

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  5. That pairing makes perfect sense - I suppose anything that works with aniseed would work with fennel. I've only recently discovered raw fennel as a salad ingredient. It's fantastic. I used to hate aniseed flavours and I'm really starting to love them now - I guess that's age for you. x

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    1. I'm not a fan of fennel but they weren't too bad in this cookie. I do find I like certain things that I used to hate before - maybe it is age, oh dear! x

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  6. ooh fennel in cookies, not had that before! Not many people I know like aniseed flavours..oh well more for me! ;-D

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  7. I'm impressed you created your own recipe, I imagine that's harder to do than it looks! Thanks for sending these to Alphabakes.

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    1. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't so I'm pleased that these turned out!

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  8. I can't cope with fennel - aniseed is my nemesis of flavours! But I love the sound of these...sans fennel!

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    1. I imagine they are pretty good without the fennel too!

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  9. Oh yes please Ros - anything with pistachios sounds good and I'm quite intrigued by the idea of pairing them with fennel.

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  10. Fennel and Pistachios? Sure sounds tasty to me, Ros.

    Thanks for sharing...

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  11. LOVELY recipe Ros, packed full of healthy ingredients and lots of nuts too! LOVELY! Karen

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  12. These sound lovely, i now feel the need to try fennel in a cookie!

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