Gluten-Free 50/50 Pistachio-Brown Rice Sablé Cookies

For Christmas, I asked for and received Chad Robertson’s new cookbook, Tartine No. 3. Most of the cookie recipes call for a mixture of whole grain and nut flours. Of course this was attractive to me, and so I began to test out a few recipes. This recipe for 50/50 sable cookies turned out perfectly without any adjustments to proportions. I added the orange zest and the vanilla to his suggested flour pairing, and modified the prep process a bit to make it simpler. These gluten-free cookies have a sandy sable texture and a pistachio-orange-lace flavor. Modified from Tartine No. 3.

50/50 Sablé Cookies
Makes about 60 cookies

1 1/2 cups/186 grams unsalted pistachios
1 cup/186 grams finely ground gluten-free brown rice flour
2/3 cup/133 grams sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon/133 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pistachios on a baking sheet and toast 5 minutes until light golden in color. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pistachios, brown rice flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, and orange zest. Pulse until very finely ground, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and add the butter. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until it mixture looks like coarse meal and begins to form a dough. (If the dough seems dry and is not holding together, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.) Gather together with your hands and lightly kneed into one cohesive mass. Refrigerate dough in a covered container overnight to hydrate the brown rice flour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop, such as #100, form the dough into 3/4” balls. Spacing the cookie balls about 1 inch apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking to ensure even browning, until the cookies are golden around the edges. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and transfer the cookies still on parchment to cooling racks. Cool completely.

The cookies will keep up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.