I love most nuts, but pistachios are certainly at the top of that list. I enjoy them for snacking on – one of my favorite ice cream flavors is pistachio. – I’ve made a pistachio cake before – and there is a wonderful bakery in the Chicago area, that makes a glazed pistachio doughnut – that is TO DIE FOR! So on this Mother’s Day – I decided to make myself some Pistachio Muffins!!

They definitely came out “bakery worthy”, with a crunchy crust on top, thanks to the coarse granular sugar that was sprinkled on top. I also added some chopped “lightly salted” pistachios into the batter, as well as on top.
Dee-licious!

Recipe for Pistachio Muffins (makes 12 regular size muffins, or 9-10 large muffins)

Ingredients:

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 3.4 oz pkg of instant pistachio pudding
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c chopped lightly salted pistachios (more for sprinkling on top)
coarse granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 muffin pan with paper liners.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Combine and set aside.

In a stand mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add eggs and extract. Blend to combine.

Add pudding mix, and blend. Add in milk, and blend. Slowly add flour mixture, and blend to combine. Add chopped pistachios (if desired). Stir to combine. What a beautiful shade of green!

Fill each muffin cup with 1 large ice cream scoop of batter. For large muffins, use 1 1/2 scoops. Top with coarse sugar, and additional chopped pistachios.

Bake for 15 min. on middle rack in the oven. Lower temp to 350, and bake for another 5 min. on top rack in the oven. Test for doneness using a toothpick. Will come out clean when done.

Cool completely. These freeze well, for up to 3 mo. But go ahead and try one – as they are best fresh!