Chocolate Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Don’t skimp on the time—this makes a big difference in texture.

Add the vanilla and salt and mix in. Then slowly add the flour until just combined. Mix in the chocolate and pistachios.

Dump the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Press it into a disk, then wrap well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Break the dough in half, leaving half in the fridge while you work with the other half.

Flour a work surface and roll out half the dough until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-3 inch cookie cutter, cut out the cookies very close together. Put the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving an inch or so between. Then gather the remaining scraps of dough, re-roll and cut again. Every time you roll out the dough it gets tougher, so try to cut as many from the first roll as possible. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 15-20 minutes then remove the pans from the oven and cool cookies on the cookie sheets 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Yield: 50-55 cookies