TOMORROW IS ST. PATRICK'S DAY! I love this holiday. I like it because I love to drink, and I love telling people my ancestors were Irish, and mostly I love to drink!
I can't drink this year, you know. I can eat, though, and I am almost as good at eating as I am drinking.
I decided I wanted to bake something for work today. Something green, but nothing dyed, because that's usually off-putting. I thought of things that are green and are also dessert-worthy. I remembered that spumoni cake I made for Easter a couple years ago and decided I would make pistachio cupcakes. I didn't want to just add a box of pudding or a handful of crushed nuts to a box mix, I wanted to make pistachio cupcakes, dammit. After searching for awhile on the internet, the same recipe came up over and over - a box of mix, a box of pistachio pudding, awful green food coloring. The cupcakes were bright shamrock green, the icing usually a pale minty color. They were awful. I was discouraged.
Then I came across this recipe from Feast on the Cheap and lo and behold! They used real pistachios! And flour! And sugar! And stuff! And no food coloring, so I decided to try it. I am really, really, really glad I did. It is hands down now my favorite cupcake I've ever made (well, no, any time I put candied orange peel on a cupcake is my favorite cupcake in the world). The only change I made was instead of buttercream icing I used cream cheese because I'm just not a huge fan of buttercream, no matter how many different recipes I try.
PISTACHIO CUPCAKES
1 c shelled unsalted pistachios
1 c all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c pistachios for decorating (is what I used)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. In a large bowl, whisk together the ground pistachios, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Combine the milk and vanilla in a spouted measuring cup.
Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until just combined. On low speed, alternately add the pistachio mixture and the milk in batches, starting and finishing with the flour. Finish mixing by hand and avoid over-beating.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling to the top of the liners. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.
(The only thing I would change is they did not need to be filled to the top. I assumed maybe this instruction was because they didn't rise well, but they rise like any other cupcake I've ever made - definitely fill them 2/3 full like you would with any other cupcake batter. I had those big, flat, icky muffin-tops. Also because of that it only made 10...otherwise it would have certainly made a full dozen.)
Anyway, I lightly chopped up the 1/2 cup of pistachios, slapped on some of my cream cheese icing, and sprinkled with the nuts. Delicious! The guys up here really loved them, too!
On that recipe, she also linked to a key lime pie. You know what's special about a key lime pie? IT'S ALSO GREEN, SISTER.
I knew I was taking a chance pulling two recipes from one source and making them the same night, but I threw caution to the wind when I surfed for other pie recipes and realized they're all about the same!
KEY LIME PIE
For the crust:
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
4 egg yolks
14 oz can sweetened, condensed milk
1/2 c key lime juice
And I had some whipped cream on hand for topping, but I didn't put it on top - I think next time I will since it would be prettier.
Cookie crumbs for decorating:
2/3 c graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare the crust. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and spices until blended. Stir in the melted butter, combining well.
Transfer the mixture to the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Lightly spread the crumbs evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Once evenly distributed, use gentle pressure to press the mixture into the bottom and sides, forming a rim slightly raised at the top edge of the dish.
If opting for the cookie crumble topping, prepare in the same manner, through step 2. Transfer the crumbs to a piece of heavy foil, folding up the sides to prevent spilling in the oven. (It looks like a flat-bottomed, square boat.)
Bake the pie shell and “boated” cookie crumbs for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a medium mixing bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, lightly beat the eggs. Add the condensed milk, incorporating fully.
Gradually add the Key lime juice. Be careful not to over beat, if using an electric mixer, as the final product will form air bubbles on the surface.
Transfer the filling to the prepared pie crust. Using a rubber spatula, spread evenly to the edges of the crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The pie will jiggle – don’t worry as the final setting occurs in the fridge.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then refrigerate the pie for 8 hours.
Either spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie, or top each slice with a dollop. Sprinkle with the cookie crumbs.
That's it. I do have to admit that while the pie was baking I was cleaning up and noticed the cinnamon for the crust waiting patiently on the counter for me to add it in. Whoops! It didn't seem to make much of a difference to the guys who ate it.
So now I've got a new website I'm going to spend a lot of time browsing, and some ideas for Easter. Key lime pie? Another spumoni cake but this time with cream cheese icing (and maybe a lemon layer instead of a pineapple)? Or another Death by Chocolate trifle? (mmm) Any requests?
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