Pistachio Linzer Tart

I had many questions when I started the process of creating the Pistachio Linzer Tart; I had never seen any dough dessert with such intricate lines. Not only did this one prove to be delicious, it is also very pretty. Reading that I’d need to use my tart pan again, I had flashbacks to my nightmare experience with the Meyer Lemon Tart; but this time was a much better experience.

I had just about all the ingredients for this recipe in my pantry already. I roasted my pistachios and coated the tart pan with butter. Once the pistachios were cooled, they went into the food processor with the dry ingredients. This completed my flour mixture.

One thing I think Claire does very well in Dessert Person is utilizing the food processor as much as possible in a recipe; she’s aware it’s kind of one of those small kitchen appliances no one feels like pulling out, using for a few seconds and then washing all the pieces. Rather than use another bowl, I made the batter in the food processor. Like other dough recipes, it’s important for the butter to be chilled for this recipe as well. After the wet ingredients were combined, I added in the pistachio flour.

Once the batter was complete, I placed half of it in the tart pan and baked it for around 17 minutes…however, I put it on a tray before placing it in the oven, which I highly recommend doing for your own sanity (again reference my experience with a tart pan making the Meyer Lemon Tart).

While the bottom layer was baking, I placed the rest of the batter in a piping bag with a star frosting tip on it. I also seeded the strawberry jam I used, as I do not prefer the seeds in desserts.

After the first layer of batter was baked and cooled, I used Claire’s favorite gadget, an offset spatula, to place the jam over it with a small outer edge.

Then the fun part happened; I piped the rest of the batter in thin lines across the entire tart. It looked spectacular! It’s one of those desserts many wonder how on earth you’d ever create such a thing, but turns out it’s extremely easy.

I baked the assembled tart for another 25 minutes, again on a tray. This time, I was especially happy I used a tray, because when I took it out, some of the juice from either the jam, batter, or maybe both had leaked out. I used Claire’s useful trick of placing the tart over a bowl to take it out of the ring, and it worked (and almost gave me a slight heart attack when the ring fell off incredibly fast).

It almost seemed as if a tart should not be this easy to put together, but it was a joy to make the Pistachio Linzer Tart. The only challenge I had was deciding how to cut it, as I loved the thin pieces in the picture of Dessert Person. I tried to make my own version. Did it look as pretty as the book? No. But it was sure delicious! The pistachio comes through very well in the tart dough. Next time I may use a darker jam like blackberry or grape to see if the line of color shows through more. If you need a quick dessert to impress, this one will be memorable in looks, delicious and yet different from what many will expect.

If Claire makes a video on this recipe I will post it!