Fact: baking with friends makes Saturday afternoons infinitely more fun. Shout out to the wonderful Laura Bakst for indulging me in my last minute plea for company while I was pretending not to have real responsibilities.

Other things I learned this weekend while ignoring said responsibilities: don’t get overconfident with your knives and try to cut a bagel over the sink – you will slip and slice open your finger. Follow up: don’t then think that wrapping it in a bit of tape will make it OK to go rock climbing – it will reopen and bleed excessively. Now that I’ve made those mistakes, none of you should feel the need to do the same.

Anyways, that was a digression due largely to the fact that typing with a taped up finger really isn’t my favorite thing to do. Back to the cookies.

These cookies are in the category I think of as Adult Cookies or Sophisticated Cookies, which I think is true of anything that combines chocolate, orange, and pistachios. Though obviously, as a mostly adult, I recognize that this combination is delicious, I can’t think of a kid begging their mom to make these cookies. Kid Cookies are M&M Cookies or Confetti Cookies, and keep it simple with chocolate in a vanilla base dough or candy and bright colors. Adult Cookies have ingredients like pistachios or lavender and generally can look less visually appealing as long as they taste good.

Of course, just because a cookie is a Kid Cookie doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it as an adult – those Confetti Cookies may be one of the most addicting recipes on this blog.

So how to make these adult cookies? First, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Then, in a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and creamy, about three minutes. With the mixer running, pour in the sugar, then the brown sugar, and continue to beat until fluffy. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. Add in two additions to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides and beating after each addition.  Add the flour mixture in a couple of additions, beating to combine. Beat in the orange liqueur.With a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and pistachios to distribute. Drop dough by the rounded tablespoon onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes, until browning at edges and tops look dry. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Bring them to parties and meetings to get rid of them.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups (10 oz) flour
• 1/4 cup (3/4 oz) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (5 oz) sugar
• 3/4 cup (5 oz) light brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups (12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup (4 oz) pistachios

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
3. With the mixer running, add the sugar, then the brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla extract. Add in two additions to batter, scraping down sides of bowl and beating after each addition.
5. Add flour mixture gradually, and beat to just combine.
6. Beat in orange liqueur to incorporate.
7. Using a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and pistachios.
8. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until browning at edges and middles are dry.