Chocolate and Pistachio Whirligig Buns Recipe (2024)

8 for the dough and another 8 for the filling is correct.

There's an error with the butter amounts. You melt 6-7 tablespoons into the milk and later dollop the remaining 1-2 tablespoons onto the dough and spread. (If you add a teaspoon of roughly ground cardamom into the milk, it's a lot like Finnish pulla and absolutely delicious.)

Tried as suggested with English marmalade (lots of Seville orange peel) and brown sugar instead of chocolate/pistachios then topped with a simple milk powdered sugar vanilla extract glaze and chopped pistachios—— wow!!!! So addictive. As noted this is a very well-behaved dough with endless varieties for curious bakers. Highly recommend the complexity of marmalade buns!

This is a winner. I'm at 7000' elevation, so I cut the yeast by 1/3. My test batch at 400 degrees quickly overbaked on the outside and underbaked in the middle. The second batch at 375 came out perfectly. I assembled the rolls the night before and put one pan in the freezer to bake another day. The other pan chilled in the fridge overnight and had its second rise in the morning while the oven preheated.

2 1/4 tsp per packet

This is a fantastic recipe. The dough barely needs rolling; it can be pressed out to the needed size. Made them with brown sugar and a sprinkle of mini-chocolate chips, then glazed them with a mixture of heavy cream, vanilla, maple syrup, and confectioners sugar. Delicious!

I always make them completely but only bake until just done. When cool, I cover and refrigerate overnight. Then in the morning I pop them back in a heated oven and warm/bake til golden. I've done it this way for years.

2 1/2 hours but yummy. as pretty as the pic

Made these for a New Year's Day brunch and they were amazing. I only had traditional active yeast on hand so I did 45 minutes for the first rise and 25 minutes for the second. Baked for 25 minutes in a convection oven and they came out golden just like the picture. They do need to rest in the pan for 30 minutes as stated so the bubbling butter/sugar can seap back into the buns. Will remake as many times as my waistline will allow.

For all that flour and for a rapid rise, yes. If you bake a lot, buying SAF instant yeast in 1 lb package is a real deal on Amazon and it keeps forever in the freezer. I'm still using yeast I froze over two years ago.

Like Kelly said, this took me 2.5 hrs as well, not including the 30 min rest nor the time it took to measure ingredients. That said, it was well worth waking up 6am for! Dough came together beautifully. Feel free to use more pistachios as each 1” slice may not have a lot, and cut down the filling’s sugar given the chocolate. I also got 16 slices even after cutting the recipe in half! A little dark after 25 min in my oven and will shoot for 20 next time. Impressed my family, highly recommend :)

I did half recipe, using stand mixer with dough hook and about 3 addl Tbs. flour to get the dough to a soft/sticky consistency that about half-cleaned the bowl. Cut into 10 buns. Baked 9 buns in an 8x8 square metal baking pan, and put the extra in a small individual pie/tart pan. They turned out beautifully. Rising times were spot on! Very easy recipe - I liked that they weren’t overly sweet, but we thought a Cinnabon-type icing could be great with it too.

When I make these, I will cut the yeast substantially. 1 pkg yeast equals 2 1/2 t. 7 1/2 t. yeast is a lot for 5 cups of flour. Less yeast means a slower rise, which means a tastier dough. I make a similar recipe using 7 cups of flour in which 2 t. of yeast work fine. It just takes a longer rise in both the dough and buns I will also reduce the butter in the dough by half and use half whole wheat. It will still be rich and delicious!

I made this with 8 tablespoons melted in the milk and another 8 tablespoons spread on the dough. It turned out very well

2003 by Nigella Lawson, the British cookbook author and culinary celebrity, encouraging to bake with yeast. The payoff for tackling one's fear, she argued, is big. Enter these pillowy, butter-rich buns dotted with semisweet chocolate and pistachios. They are not difficult – if you can follow directions, you can make them (really!) – and they are insanely delicious. You can also fill them with marmalade, or with honey and chopped walnuts.

Who measured their flour and sugar by weight rather than volume? What weights did you use for each? Wish all NYT cooking recipes would include measurements by weights and not only by volume!

I was very disappointed in the results. The buns are too doughy and lack flavor. Not worth the effort or the calories.

Made 1/2 batch in 8x8 pan. Pulsed pistachios in food processor until just shy of ground, which worked really well. Next time I’ll grind the chocolate with the nuts. Forgot egg wash - brushed on melted butter when they came out of the oven instead. Used about 2 teaspoons of yeast (I’m at 6000 ft) and it worked fabulously. Delicious!

I was excited to try this recipe because of the 5 star review. However, the dough itself is very bland, resulting in an overall flat taste. 1 1/4 tsp of salt was not nearly enough. If I make this again, I'll up the salt to 2 tsp, as well as the sugar.

When my betrothed sprung out with the recipe I was skeptical? Whirligig? Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book. She assured me no. It’s a British spiral delight! I slammed my newspaper down on the desk. I was in, but I had no idea what I was in for. I blacked out from all the excitement. I arose to the sniff of a pastry delight. Pistachios Ah! Chocolate chips Ooh! A golden ratio of pure delight. Perfect design. My woman done it again! A real english treasure.

This recipe is near and dear to my family’s hearts. The amount of butter is fine- it’s a once in a while treat. Don’t forget to put the egg wash on top- the instructions are missing that. Enjoy.

I add fresh orange zest and use salted, shelled pistachios and cut out 1/2 t. of salt. Perfect balance.9f.aroma, flavor and textures. Highly recommend for the new baker but just a nice easy "fast" recipe.

These are delicious and very easy to make. A standard breakfast treat when I have overnight guests. Scrumptious!

I am baking these right now. Super easy to make the dough. First rise went great. Second rise basically didnt rise. Argh. Fingers crossed they are still OK.

I’ve made this three times. I tried different fillings but the chocolate/pistachio is hard to beat. I also went to regular yeast (2 pkgs) and was a little more patient. Three packages of rapid rise has a little too much of a yeasty taste for me.

These were easy to make and are great to have in the morning. For some reason the bottoms of all the buns burnt after 20 min in the oven. i had to slice off the burnt part from all of them. My oven is new and works great so I wish I knew why. Positioned in the center as well. has this happened to anyone?

A ridiculous amount of yeast is called for. One packet is certainly enough for that amount of flour. Also, instant yeast is much preferable to rapid rise yeast; the two are not the same. A packet or 2-1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast would also work. You just have to dissolve it in a bit of lukewarm water. I've made loaves of bread using almost 7 cups of flour and only 2 teaspoons of instant yeast, and got great results. You sacrifice flavor by using too much yeast.

I did 4 tsp of yeast, used gluten free flour (Namaste brand), and let them rise overnight in the fridge and these turned out really well. One of the most workable gluten free doughs I've ever made. As with gluten free baking, it has it's quirks, but overall delicious and not as dry and crumbly as other one-to-one gf conversions

We don't like over sweet desserts, so I reduced the sugar to about 2/3 cup. The dough is lovely. Big hit!

These made a delicious breakfast treat. They don't need to rise quite as long as some yeasted bakes, and the dough is soft and lovely. I put them in the baking pan after slicing and stuck them right in the fridge. The next morning, I let them warm up and rise while getting dressed, then tossed them in the oven and we had an amazing, special breakfast. Next time I may add some cardamom or nutmeg.For my oven, 375 worked best. The bottoms still got a little dark, but still great.