Pistachio Torrone Recipe

This pillowy soft nougat is flavored with honey and studded with toasted pistachios.

Closeup of torrone, cut into slabs and stacked on a black surface.

Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

Why It Works

  • Warming pistachios in the oven before folding them into the nougat keeps the mixture from cooling down, which makes it easier to fold in the nuts.
  • Stretching and folding the nougat on a cornstarch-dusted surface helps it cool down and ensures it's not sticky.

Back when I was a pastry student and intern, one of the greatest thrills of the experience was demystifying the process of making sweets that I'd previously only enjoyed from packages or specialty stores. This is precisely why I loved learning candy techniques; making ribbon candy, enrobing chocolate, filling bonbons with flowing liquid caramel—suddenly, I could do all these magical things, just like Willy Wonka!

I was especially excited when I learned how to properly make nougat candy, especially the torrone that my Grammy snuck into our pockets each Christmas. Her store-bought, bite-sized version came wrapped in silver foil tucked inside tiny adorable blue boxes. The candy itself was pillowy and just a little chewy, like a very dense marshmallow, flavored intensely with honey and studded with almonds, as is the Italian tradition. My cousins and I were crazy for the stuff back in the day, and we still are now.

Torrone is made by whisking whipped egg whites with a very hot syrup made from honey, sugar, and (sometimes) other invert sugars like glucose or corn syrup. The nougat is whipped to aerate the mixture, creating a magical, pillowy texture from something that would otherwise be a hardened, tooth-cracking block. Once it's cooled a bit, warmed nuts get folded into the nougat by hand. Then it's kneaded a bit on the countertop with a hefty amount of starch to keep it from sticking (and stick it will, to anything left unprotected), and pressed between layers of edible rice paper to set for several hours before cutting.

It's not hard to see why homemade torrone has a reputation for causing cooks pain. The syrup must be brought to a very hot 310°F (154°C, or the hard crack stage) in order for the nougat to set up properly—a cooking process that takes time and vigilance. The cook must decide just when to whip the egg whites so they are at soft peak stage by the time the sugar is ready to be poured in, which can be a nerve-wracking guessing game. Also, the nougat is ultra-sticky, which makes handling it troublesome, as it will adhere to anything it touches. Folding in the nuts, kneading on the countertop, and shaping in the pan can all devolve into a sticky failure if the nougat is mishandled.

But, with a little knowledge and some patience, you can make perfect torrone at home. You can also make a lot of people happy: these make great party treats for New Year's Eve!

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart Living.

December 2011

Recipe Details

Pistachio Torrone Recipe

Prep 30 mins
Cook 20 mins
Active 45 mins
Cooling Time 2 hrs
Total 2 hrs 50 mins
Serves 24 pieces

Ingredients

  • Edible wafer paper cut into four 8- by 11-inch sheets

  • 3 large egg whites

  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 cup honey

  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 3 cups granulated sugar

  • 2 cups shelled raw pistachios (see note)

  • Optional: seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, citrus zest, or flavor extracts

  • 1/3 cup cornstarch

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).

    A sheet pan is lined with parchment and edible wafer paper.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Wiesenthal

  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.

    A moistened pastry brush is used to push sugar crystals down the sides of the pan.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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).

    The sugar syrup bubbles up as it is cooked to the hard-crack stage.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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.

    Egg whites are whipped in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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.

    The sugar syrup is slowly drizzled into the whipped egg whites with the mixer running.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

    The finished meringue mixture in the mixer, ready to add pistachios to.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

    Warmed pistachios are added to the meringue from a sheetpan.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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.

    The pistachio-meringue mixture is turned out onto a cornstarch-dusted work surface.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

    The meringue is kneaded on the work surface.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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.

    The kneaded nougat is stretched and shaped to fit over the two pieces of edible wafer paper.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

    Two more sheets of edible wafer paper are placed on top of the nougat.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

  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.

    A large oiled chef's knife is used to cut the torrone into pieces.

    Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal

Special Equipment

Rimmed baking sheet, large saucepan (see note), digital thermometer, stand mixer with whisk attachment, edible wafer paper

Notes

Pistachios should not be toasted, but for other types, you may want to toast the nuts to bring out their oils and flavor. If you are using hazelnuts, toast, then rub off the skins before using.

It's important that you use a pot that is large enough to create a large surface area for cooking, and with sides that are tall enough to hold the liquid as it bubbles and grows when cooking (in the photo above, I use a 6-quart pan).

To cut the torrone, insert the oiled knife straight down into the candy slab, then use the knife to pull the cut piece away. If the edible paper pulls away in some spots, just place it back over the nougat and continue cutting. You may also consider using kitchen shears to cut the torrone.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
215 Calories
5g Fat
43g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories 215
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 3%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 98mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 43g 16%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 39g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 13mg 1%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 116mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)