Persian Dates with Pistachios
And our new book "Süss&Gesund Weihnachten"
Our new book “Süss&Gesund Weihnachten” will be published on October 4th. And even if it’s a Christmas baking book, I really can’t wait until December to tell you more about it. Because it is a heart project, like all cookbooks that Thomas and I have made together so far; a small book with 35 of my very favorite Christmas candy recipes. In addition to healthy versions of gingerbread and macaroons, you will also find my “young wild ones”, who will stir up the Advent coffee party (I only say Quinoa brittle). And a few “globetrotters” bring tastes from all over the world under the Christmas tree, for example a new interpretation of Turkish halva and Italian panforte.
And because I just can’t wait, you’ll get one of the recipes in advance that you can already enjoy right now. In all honesty: many candy recipes that taste good in the run-up to Christmas could actually be eaten all year round and preferably every day, right? At least that’s true for my Persian dates, which are filled with a super delicious mix of pistachios and rose water. Since I started testing recipes for the new book in spring, we had roasted almonds and mulled wine at Easter, and gingerbread in May. And no, that’s only a bit weird in the beginning and then turns almost into the new normal.
How does it even work, such a book production?
First there is the idea of making a healthy Christmas baking book. I write down an exposé and discuss it with my editor. Together we decide how many recipes the book will have and some key data, and then we start. I develop recipes, Thomas and I think about what the book should look like, I paint backgrounds on which the sweets will later be photographed …
… and go shopping. Because of course, a Christmas baking book needs nice decoration. And Thomas and I drag them home and pack them in boxes, which we then always carry around to where we are currently taking pictures:
Cookies are baked, tasted, baked again, refined and written down. Then I arrange them nicely and Thomas takes pictures:
Lilly can also join in, after all, there is a cookie recipe for 4-legged friends in the book:
When the pictures have been taken and the texts have been written, it is time to layout the book. Since I’m a designer, I do it myself. And this is what the book looks like:
And here are all the facts about the book:
“Süss&Gesund Weihnachten”
Knaur balance
96 pages, hardcover, 35 recipes
From October 4th 2016 you will find it in every bookshop or online at Amazon
PERSIAN DATES WITH PISTACHIOS
Ingredients
- 90 g pistachios without shell plus one pistachio per date to decorate
- 3 tsp rose water
- 3 tsp maple syrup grade A
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 18 Medjool dates you can get it in the Turkish grocery store or in the organic food store
- 1.5 tbsp birch sugar xylitol
Instructions
- Set aside one pistachio per date to decorate, roast the remaining pistachios in a pan until they begin to smell. Coarsely puree with rose water, maple syrup and salt in the food processor.
- Cut the Medjool dates lengthways in the middle and remove the core. Fill the dates with a heaping teaspoon of the pistachio mixture.
- Put the birch sugar on a plate and roll the filled dates in it. Decorate each date with a pistachio.
