Lucy Baker

Last year my mother gave me Gina de Palma’s cookbook, Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, for my birthday. I’m embarrassed to admit that it has taken me a full nine months to try out a recipe, despite several evenings curled up looking at the pictures, and despite the fact that I consider the dinner I had at Babbo one the best of my life.

But last week, during a big pantry clean-out, I discovered a bag of pistachios I had completely forgotten about. Pistachios have a short shelf life, so I knew I had to act fast if I wanted to avoid throwing the expensive little suckers away.

I thought of Gina’s recipe for Sicilian Pistachio Bars flavored with lemon zest and amaretto. I had all of the ingredients on hand, but only enough pistachios to bake a half-batch of the recipe. Would it work if I scaled it down from 13×18-jelly roll pan to a 9×9-inch pan?

In a word: yes. My half-batch bars were so crunchy, buttery, and sweet, I wished I had twice as many. The secret is incorporating half the pistachios into the batter and pressing the other half over the top, a method that results in a double-punch of nutty flavor. Next time I bake these (and there will certainly be a next time!) I might try swapping orange zest for the lemon, or drizzling them with a little white chocolate once they’ve cooled.

Sicilian Pistachio Bars

- adapted from Gina de Palma-

- makes 12 to 18 bars -

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup shelled, whole, unsalted pistachios

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (whew!)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon amaretto

Freshly grated zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment, and spray the parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside. Put 1/4 cup of the pistchios into the work bowl of a food processer and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the flour mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the egg and then the vanilla extract, amaretto, and lemon zest, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the edges with an offset spatula or a butter knife.

Put the remaining 1/4 cup of pistachios into the food processor and pulse a few times, just until they are coarsely chopped. Sprinkle the pistachios evenly over the batter. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar over the batter.

Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are firm in the center and golden brown at the edges. Cool them on a wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.