1 CUP PISTACHIOS RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cups into 24 muffin pan cups; set aside. 
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl; set aside.
• Place 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup pistachios into small food processor bowl fitted with metal blade; process until finely ground.
• Combine pistachio mixture, remaining 1 cup sugar and 1 cup butter in another bowl; beat at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating at low speed after each addition, just until mixed.
• Divide batter evenly among paper baking cups. Bake 17-19 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes in pans, remove to cooling racks. Cool completely. 
• Combine water and cornstarch in bowl, set aside.
• Combine cherries, 1/3 cup sugar, and lemon juice in 1-quart saucepan. Bring to boil over low heat. Add cornstarch mixture, stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Cool completely.
• ?Heat water in saucepan over medium heat until it comes to gentle boil.
• ?Place 1 1/3 cups sugar and egg whites into bowl; place bowl over saucepan with gently boiling water. Cook, stirring often, until mixture reaches 165°F. Remove from heat. Beat 5-8 minutes with heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until stiff peaks form.
• Add 2 cups butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture may look curdled); continue beating until fluffy. Add melted white chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until mixture is smooth.
• Create bunny ears by dividing 3 ounces melted white chocolate in half. Place one half in resealable plastic food bag, cut off corner. Tint other half pink with red food color. Place into resealable plastic food bag; cut off corner. Pipe pink center in shape of 2 bunny ears on waxed or parchment paper. Pipe white chocolate around pink center. Repeat to create 24 pairs of ears. For noses, use remaining pink chocolate and pipe 24 small dots for noses. Place into freezer to set.
• Remove 1-inch piece of cake from center of each cupcake using sharp knife; discard cake piece. Spoon about 2 teaspoons cherry filling into each hole. 
• Spoon frosting into large pastry bag, fitted with large round tip. Pipe frosting around top of cupcake. Sprinkle edges with chopped pistachios. Pipe frosting in round mounds to create bunny shape. Add pink nose onto top mound.  Place bunny ears into frosting just before serving.

Steps:

• Prepare the simple syrup first and let it cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Process the pistachios and powdered sugar in a processor. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. You will split the amount into 3 portions.
• Unfold the phyllo sheets and smooth out to flatten. Cover with a damp towel, not wet, to prevent it from drying.
• Brush the base of a 9 x 14 inch pan with some ghee. Place one sheet of phyllo and brush again with ghee. Repeat 9 more times to get a total of 10 sheets, brushing in between each sheet. Add in 1? of the ground pistachio and spread evenly.
• Add in one sheet over the nuts and brush by dabbing only because it will move if you brush it normally. Add 4 more sheets, brushing in between each sheet. Before brushing the top of the 5th sheet, press down the surface very well with your palm to compress the nuts. Then brush with ghee.
• Add another 1? of crushed pistachio and top with 5 more sheets the same way you did the first. One more layer ground pistachios and this time for the final layer, top with 10 sheets of phyllo instead of 5, just like we did in the bottom layer. Before brushing the top with ghee for the last time, press down the surface really well again with your palm to compress the layers.
• Using a sharp knife with a pointed tip, cut the baklava into diamond shapes. Refer to my blog photos for step-by-step photo reference.
• Place the tray on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. At this point the edges and baklava should be lightly brown in color and you can turn on the top broiler for just 1-2 minutes watching it "very closely" until you get the golden color you prefer. Do not take your eyes off of it or else they will burn super fast.
• Remove from the oven and drizzle 1-1¼ cup of simple syrup evenly all over the baklava. Use more or less to preference. I like using a squeezable bottle to spread the syrup evenly on the baklava.