The Domestic Goddess--Pistachio Macaroons

Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, is one of my favorite cookbooks. Mary and I cook from it all the time. Last night Mary made two recipes--pistachio macaroons and pain-au-chocolate bread pudding. The macaroons are unbelievably good, and much easier to make than they look. Try them!

Pistachio Macaroons
Ingredients
1/3 cup or 3 oz.  pistachios
3/4 cup confectioners  sugar
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp.  sugar

Buttercream
1/4 cup or 2 oz. pistachios
1 2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grind the pistachios in a food processor along with the confectioners sugar (this stops them turning into an oily mess), until fine as dust. Whisk the eggs whites until fairly stiff, but not dry, sprinkle the sugar over and whisk until very stiff. Fold the whites into the pistachio-sugar dust and combine gently. Pipe small rounds onto your lined baking sheet, using a 1cm plain nozzle. Let them sit for about 10 minutes to form a skin. Put in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes. They should be set but not dried out.
Remove from the oven and let cool, still on their sheets, while you get on with the filling. Grind the nuts and icing sugar in the food processor as before. Cream the butter and continue creaming as you add the nut dust. Make sure you have a well combined soft buttercream. Sandwich the macaroons together with the buttercream filling.