The cookies are about the size of quarters, making them the perfect one-bite treat – though they’re also fun to eat by the handful! The dough for these cookies is made in a food processor with flour, powdered sugar, butter, and a single yolk. Pulse everything together until it starts to clump together, then tip it out on your counter and gather into a ball. From there, just roll it into logs! Let the logs firm up overnight in the fridge before slicing. They’ll also keep just fine for several days, or for a couple of months in the freezer. Whenever you’re ready for cookies, just slice and bake! (Thaw frozen logs overnight in the fridge.) My instructions here make almost 100 miniature, quarter-sized cookies. You can also roll the logs slightly larger to yield about five dozen cookies. These little cookies make a fine gift packaged in cellophane bags, or save them for a party. Serve the cookies nestled on plates or a cake stand and don’t be surprised if guests grab them by the fistful. You’ll have leftover chopped nuts after making this recipe. Save them for your next batch of cookies, or sprinkle them over your oatmeal! Almond Butter Cookie Variation: Replace the pistachios with almonds. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Pulse a few times to mix the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into a few chunks and scatter over the top of the dry ingredients. Pulse just until the mixture forms crumbs. Whisk the yolk with the vanilla with a fork (this helps them mix more easily), and add to the food processor, scraping the small bowl with a rubber spatula so all the yolk is added. Pulse again in 15 or so long bursts, just until the dough forms large moist clumps. (If your dough isn’t forming clumps or seems very dry and crumbly, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to let the butter warm and soften a little more, then try pulsing again.) Use the bench scraper or a knife to cut the dough in half. Shape each half into a log that is 13-to-14-inches long and 3/4-inch wide, rolling them under your palms until they are smooth. Cut each log in half again to make 4 shorter logs. Arrange the cookies 1-inch apart on the baking sheet.
