Krista came up with a great idea for the bloggers on Slow Travel. We will pick a recipe from a cookbook and bake it some time during the week. On Sunday, we will all blog the results. Jerry came up with the name – Sunday Slow Bakers.

I missed the first week challenge – Italian Crumbly Cake so I didn’t want to miss this week’s challenge – Sicilian Pistachio Bars from Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma chosen by Deborah.

First challenge was to find shelled unsalted pistachios. Fortunately, we have a great local market which has an excellent bulk food section. They have everything a baker (or cook) needs in bulk form. This save a lot of time and my finger nails.

The pistachios are ground fine in a food processor and added to the flour. The butter is creamed with the sugar and eggs. Next add the flavoring, vanilla, almond (extract or amaretto) and lemon. I completely forgot the lemon. I should have zested it before starting the recipe. They were good without it but I think the tangy sour lemon would have added a lot.

The cookies are baked in a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan 18×13 that has been lined with parchement paper. The dough is dense so it can be difficult to spread evenly. The recipe recommends an off-set metal spatula which would have been great. I didn’t have one so I used a hard plastic spatula. The cookie dough forms a thin layer. You will want to watch the browning depending upon your oven. My oven is a little cool so the 35 minutes were fine to create a light browning along the edges but lightly golden in the rest of the pan.

Let them cool 30 minutes and slice up. Excellent with coffee or milk. These can also be frozen.

Here are a few of the other results:

• Old Shoes, New Trip
• Jerry’s Thoughts, Musings and Rants!
• In and Out of the Garden
• My Place in the Sun
• Whistlestop Cafe Cooking
• Palmabella’s Passions
• What I really think

Next week – Babbo’s Breadsticks.