My 7 1/2-year-old daughter is obsessed with pistachios. She can often be found sneaking next door to our neighbors' house on the fish site to slip her tiny hands into the jar of pistachios they regularly keep on their kitchen counter. Pistachios are my favorite nut, too. I love their vibrant green color, their great crunch, that overt saltiness and the rhythm of cracking them out of their shells.
I don't even mind when I come across an especially stubborn pistachio that refuses to emerge from its shell; that's all part of the fun. Pistachios have more character than your average nut. They're feisty, much like my daughter.
Feisty pistachios and tart, red cherries are a perfect pairing in my mind. I love them together -- salty and sweet, green and red, crunchy and chewy. I especially adore them together in these buttery scones. There's nothing that beats scones straight from the oven, all tender, fragrant and golden. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, bake a fresh batch, and serve them warm to be shared with someone special, like a friendly neighbor or a pistachio-loving daughter. Or both.
Cherry pistachio scones
Yields 8 large scones
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
For topping scones:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Turbinado sugar
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and zest. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in the pistachios and the cherries.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg until combined. Pour into the mixing bowl and stir until the mixture comes together and a crumbly dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and work it gently with your hands until it just holds together (be careful not to overwork the dough or else it will become dense and tough instead of tender and flaky). Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick circle. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 8 triangles or wedges.
3. Place the scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of each scone with heavy cream. Sprinkle each scone liberally with turbinado sugar. Bake the scones for 12 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned on the bottom and golden on top. These are perfect served warm. Adapted from "Homemade with Love," by Jennifer Perillo.
Maya Evoy lives in Nikiski and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.