Granola and Chocolate Buttons

Inspired by two of my very favorite Italian cookies—chewy, almond-flavored amaretti, and the bite-sized kisses known as Baci di Dama—this cookie is the perfect treat to serve after a holiday feast or as a sweet present. These naturally gluten-free cookies have an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth texture, similar to a macaron, thanks to its floaty meringue base. Instead of flour, this cookie uses up those last bits of granola in your pantry—and any variety will do. The sprinkling of pistachios add festive color and nutty richness, and the tiniest smear of melted bittersweet chocolate helps balance out the sweetness. These buttons have the cutest diminutive size and are perfectly poppable—they're so fun to assemble and look beautiful on any holiday table.

Inspired by two of my very favorite Italian cookies—chewy, almond-flavored amaretti, and the bite-sized kisses known as Baci di Dama—this cookie is the perfect treat to serve after a holiday feast or as a sweet present. These naturally gluten-free cookies have an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth texture, similar to a macaron, thanks to its floaty meringue base. Instead of flour, this cookie uses up those last bits of granola in your pantry—and any variety will do. The sprinkling of pistachios add festive color and nutty richness, and the tiniest smear of melted bittersweet chocolate helps balance out the sweetness. These buttons have the cutest diminutive size and are perfectly poppable—they're so fun to assemble and look beautiful on any holiday table.

Ingredients

• 75 grams granola
• 50g pistachios
• 70g powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 75g granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (about 3 ounces)

Directions

1. First, mix the cookies. Grind the granola and pistachios finely in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse, pebbly crumbs, like panko. Pulse in the powdered sugar and kosher salt until combined. Transfer this mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In another medium-sized bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment), use a hand mixer on medium speed to whip the egg whites until foamy and frothy, about one minute. With the mixer still running, slowly stream in the granulated sugar. Continue to whip the mixture until glossy, medium-stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes.
3. With the mixer still running, add the vanilla and almond extract and continue to whip until just incorporated.
4. Carefully transfer the meringue into the bowl with the granola and pistachio mixture. Using a spatula, gently stir and fold the meringue into the dry ingredients, being careful not to deflate the meringue, until the mixture is just barely combined and looks like a thick paste. Do not overmix, as that will knock the air out of the egg whites and deflate the batter.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Line two half sheet baking sheets with parchment paper.  Either portion the mixture using a teaspoon, spacing each cookie at least one inch apart, or use a piping bag to pipe dots about one teaspoon in size, which is much quicker.  
7. Repeat until all of the sheet trays are filled.
8. Transfer to the oven and bake until just baked through and still chewy in the center, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
9. While the cookies are resting, melt the chocolate. Transfer the chopped chocolate into a small heatproof bowl. Using either a microwave or a small pot of water containing barely simmering water about one inch deep, gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
10. Let this mixture cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before assembling the buttons.
11. To build the buttons, dunk one cookie, smooth surface down, into the chocolate. Let the excess drip off, then press another button onto the chocolate to stick. (Or, use a small offset spatula or butter knife to spread a bit of chocolate onto the button.)
12. Transfer the buttons to a cooling rack until the chocolate sets at room temperature.
13. Stored in an airtight container, these cookies will keep at room temperature for up to two days, or in the freezer for up to two weeks.        

Pro Tip

Though I love the ground-up pistachios in here, feel free to swap in your favorite nut; hazelnuts, almonds, pecans. and even peanuts would all be terrific here. This recipe will work with nearly any kind of granola, but pick out the raisins or dried fruit if your granola is studded with those, as it'll add an additional chewy texture to the final cookie. 

RECIPE BY

Chef Natasha Pickowicz

Natasha Pickowicz is a New York City–based chef and writer. She is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award finalist. Much of her pastry work explores the relationship between baking and social justice, including ongoing collaborations with seminal New York City institutions like Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, God’s Love We Deliver, the Brigid Alliance, and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, for whom she produced a massive city-wide bake sale, raising more than $150,000 between 2017 and 2019. Currently, Pickowicz runs the pastry pop-up called Never Ending Taste, which has been held at NYC’s Superiority Burger, Brooklyn’s the Four Horsemen, the American-Vietnamese bakery Ba. n B., the Taiwanese tearoom T. Company, Los Angeles’s Kismet, and the legendary Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Pickowicz’s recipes and writing have been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bon App.tit, Saveur, Food & Wine, New York magazine, Cherry Bombe, and many other publications. Follow her on Instagram at @natashapickowicz.