By Ellie Nicole Byrne
I spent the summer in the north of Italy, and during my time I tried an array of delicious local foods, pastries and appetisers. One that particularly impressed me was the pistachio croissants, which could be found in every bakery and coffee shop.
When I came home, I desperately searched for a replica, but was unable to find any, so I took to making my own instead.
The Recipe: Homemade Pistachio Croissants
Servings: 8 crossiants
Prep time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes
Ingredient list:
8 plain croissants (either store-bought or homemade with puff pastry)
For the pistachio filling:
¾ cup unsalted pistachios
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanillia extract
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp of salt
For the syrup:
½ water (can be tap or bottled)
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp almond extract ( to create that delicous nutty aroma)
To finish:
Crushed pistachios for topping
Method:
1: To prepare the syrup.
In a saucepan, slowly combine the water and sugar. Bring to a simmer and stir until all sugar is dissolved and can no longer be seen. Once the sugar is dissolved add your almond extract, and then set aside to cool.
2: Making the pistachio filling.
In a food processor, blitz the unshelled pistachios until they’re a fine powder. Add sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, flour and salt. Process again until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy (It should resemble thick cake batter.)
Assemble the croissants.
Slice each of the croissants in half. Brush the inside lightly with the syrup and then spread a generous amount of the pistachio filling and sandwich the croissant back together. Once the crossiant is closed, spread a thin layer of the pistachio filling over the top of the croissant and sprinkle your crushed pistachios on top.
To Bake.
Bake at 350F for 20 minutes (or until golden and slightly crisp)
Ready to eat.
Once your croissants are out of the oven, leave them to cool for 15 minutes, and then enjoy!
My favourite way to enjoy the croissants is with a refreshing iced latte or an espresso!
Let us know how your croissants turned out and be sure to share with your family and friends!
