Chocolate And Pistachio Sandwich Biscuits

Recipe by Ischler Törtchen

Posted by Warm Bread & Honey Cake

About

These tartlets seem to have originated in Bad Ischler in Austria and are extremely popular in both that country and Hungary. They are made plain or with various kinds of nuts and the jam in the filling can vary, but they are always covered with a delicious chocolate glaze. They are not hard to make, but you do need patience and a gentle touch. Freshly made, they will be crisp but will start to soften after a few hours. Both textures have their charms. You could also bake the biscuits in advance and assemble the tartlets shortly before serving, to preserve the crispness. Remember to leave enough time for the chocolate to set.

Makes 12–14 sandwich biscuits.

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You Will Need (10 things)

  • 12 - 14 whole Pistachios for garnishing
  • 4 tbsp apricot Jam (jelly), sieved (strained)
  • ⅗ cup Pistachios , ground
  • 150 g sticks Butter , softened
  • ¾ cup (confectioner’s) Icing Sugar
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 ½ cup (all-purpose) Plain Flour
  • For glaze :
  • 150 g Dark Chocolate , chopped
  • 4 tbsp Milk

Steps (5 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Sift the flour with the salt and icing sugar. Add the butter and knead lightly to make a dough. Knead in the ground pistachios and shape the dough into a disc. Cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to rest for about 1 hour at cool room temperature.

  2. 2

    Preheat the oven to 180ËšC/350ËšF/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

  3. 3

    Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm/1⁄8 in and use a 6-cm/21⁄2-in cutter to cut out 24–28 rounds. If the dough breaks while rolling, just press it back together again. Use a metal spatula or a thin plastic scraper to lift the rounds so that they stay in one piece and retain their shape. Arrange the rounds on the lined baking sheets. Re-knead the trimmings lightly and roll out again, as necessary.

  4. 4

    Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until they just begin to turn golden brown around the edges. Carefully lift them off the baking sheet with a metal spatula and transfer to a cooling rack. They will still be quite soft but will firm up as they cool. Bake the second sheet of rounds as before.

  5. 5

    When both batches have cooled, make the glaze. Put the chocolate and milk in a saucepan with a thick base over low heat and stir very gently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is homogenous. Sandwich the biscuits with the jam and glaze the top of each pair generously with the chocolate mixture. Garnish with whole pistachios.