I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to Tania of Love Big, Bake Often for guest posting here today while I m out galavanting in New York City! All day on Tuesday, I hoofed it around the city with Jenny from Picky Palate, Amanda from Kevin & Amanda, Maggie of Three Many Cooks, Maria of Two Peas & Their Pod, and Lori, the Recipe Girl.  Seriously HOOFED it! We walked miles!  But that’s good, too, because we’ve had umpteen cookies, brioche, cupcakes, cheesecake, ice cream, truffles…it’s crazy…and so much fun! I can’t wait to post all about it here – I think we’ve all been inspired to recreate some of the things we tried.  Loved every minute with these wonderful ladies!

Now – back to Tania and her guest post.  She’s made the most decadent Pistachio Cupcakes in honor of National Pistachio Day.  And, if you haven’t already…visit her blog – you won’t be sorry!

Take it away, Tania!

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Until I started blogging I had never realized that there were holidays for food. As I got more into food blogging and following fun blogs (like this one) I learned  of more and more holidays, but I had no idea that there was a holiday for a different food EACH day! Crazy, right? And how much fun is it that Susan is celebrating them all? I am amazed at her stamina, and kind of jealous. My two boys run me down by noon!

Let’s get on to celebrating the day…..Pistachio Day! I am a HUGE pistachio fan. HUGE.
Though I didn’t always like them, I use to find them too much work. Especially the awful red dyed ones….I often wonder just how much food dye I have ingested eating those in my 20’s. Not too much, I hope. I can remember shopping at Stew Leonard’s CT and walking past the bulk pistachio bin and seeing people sneaking a pistachio or two (or handful) and munching as they shopped. Not me, of course. Now that you can get them already shelled for you, I would say I have found a new love for them. Unfortunately, that means I eat more of them – the work of shelling them use to slow down the munching. But I have been incorporating them into more of my baking too. Biscotti, scones, ice cream, though I have lots more recipes that I want to make too, like pistachio crusted lamb chops. Mmmmmmm. When Susan asked me to make something for Pistachio Day I wanted to make something different, something delicious, and this is what I made:

Pistachio Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache.

I love the combo of salty and sweet. It fills two of my everyday cravings! And these did
just that. The saltiness of the roasted pistachios provided a nice balance to the sweet
richness of the ganache.

Pistachio Cupcakes

Recipe Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Makes a perfect 12 cupcakes

• ½ cup plus 1 tbsp Shelled Pistachios (divided)
• 6 ½ tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 2 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 deg. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Place ½ cup of the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely

ground. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese and

ground pistachios. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Gradually mix in the sugar on medium-low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl

as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in

the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour and salt, and mix just until the dry

ingredients are incorporated. Coarsely chop the remaining pistachios and evenly fold

into the batter with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about three quarters

full. Bake, rotating halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center

comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan a few minutes, then transfer to

a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache:

• 4 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring

the heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour the

warm cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circular

motions until the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth and

glossy. Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated.

Dip the top of each cooled cupcake into the ganache to create a thin, even layer. (I let

the ganache cool and thicken just slightly before dipping the cupcakes.) Sprinkle with

additional chopped pistachios, if desired

They are incredible. You can really taste the pistachio in the cake, and since the
pistachios that I bought were roasted and salted they brought that saltiness I was
talking about. Perfect combination.

I loved celebrating Pistachio Day. I loved guest blogging here for Susan. I hope you
make these…you won’t be disappointed.

What is your favorite food holiday to celebrate? Check the list and see when your
favorite food’s day is! Let me know!

Take care, and always Love BIG, Bake Often!

Tania

Tagged as: chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, Guest Post, pistachio