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Pistachio Torrone

Adapted from https://www.seriouseats.com/pistachio-torrone-candy-how-to-make-recipe

Ingredients

  • Edible wafer paper cut into four 8- by 11-inch sheets (I do not bother with this)

  • 3 large egg whites

  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 cup honey*

  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup*

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 3 cups granulated sugar

  • 2 cups shelled raw pistachios**

  • Optional: seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, citrus zest, or flavor extracts (I use 3/4 tsp vanilla)

  • 1/3 cup cornstarch

* The original recipe calls for 3/4 honey and 1/4 cup light corn syrup; I flipped these amounts as the original recipe was far too honey-y for Tom. Flipping the amounts worked perfectly.
** Do yourself a favor and ALWAYS buy preshelled. Trust me on this.

Directions

  1. Line a half sheet-sized baking pan with parchment paper, then place two of the 8- by 11-inch pieces of wafer paper on top, without overlapping. Set aside. Pour egg whites into bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; set aside. Measure out confectioners' sugar, salt, and optional flavoring, and set each aside. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a large saucepan (see note), stir to combine honey, corn syrup, water, and granulated sugar. Wash any excess off the sides of the pan using a pastry brush dipped in water. Place over medium heat; cook until mixture just begins to simmer, about 4 minutes. Clip a digital thermometer onto the side of saucepan. 
  3. Continue to cook the syrup until a thermometer registers 310°F (154°C), about 10 to 20 minutes. Watch the mixture and thermometer carefully; the syrup will bubble and rise up, then settle back down as it cooks. Once the temperature hits 270°F (132°C) it will climb very fast. Remove the honey mixture from heat and stir until temperature drops to 300°F (149°C). 
  4. Meanwhile, quickly beat the egg whites on medium speed. Once they are frothy, lower the speed, add the salt and confectioner's sugar, then return to medium speed to whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Then turn the mixer down to its lowest setting, until the syrup has cooled to 300°F. 
  5. Once the syrup has cooled to 300°F, turn up the mixer speed to high, and, with mixer running, slowly pour into whipped egg-white mixture (at this point, whites will double in volume; let stand a few seconds; volume will return to normal). Beat until mixture thickens and begins to stick to beaters, approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the nuts in the preheated oven to warm for a few minutes, then turn off the oven to hold them. Once the nougat has thickened and is getting trapped inside the whisk, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the nuts with a spatula or big wooden spoon.
  6. Dust a work surface liberally with cornstarch. Pour mixture onto cornstarch-covered surface. Dust the top of the mixture with additional starch. Fold the meringue and stretch it out. Turn the meringue, and fold and stretch it out again. While the motion of kneading nougat is similar to bread, avoid applying the same amount of pressure. The rhythm is fold, stretch, turn. Repeat another 6 times, applying more starch to any sticky areas as needed. 
  7. Dust off excess starch. Stretch nougat to fit the edible paper and transfer to the pan. Cover with another layer of wafer paper. Let cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. After the first 30 minutes, flip candy over in the pan so the bottom paper ends up on top. 
  8. Cut into slices with an oiled knife or a pair of kitchen shears. Store in an airtight container between layers of parchment for up to 2 weeks. 

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