I love starting my day with a heavy breakfast, a cup of coffee…and some sweets for motivation. 🙂 Admittedly having a sweet toot, I have lots of different types of dessert in stock and this Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti is one my favorites. It has perfect balance of light sweetness and crunch, it’s absolutely divine. Try dipping it in your coffee (like I do), it’s amazing!
Note: Biscotti originated in the Italian city of Prato. The word biscotti comes from Latin roots that mean “twice-cooked or baked”.
Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti
I love starting my day with a heavy breakfast, a cup of coffee…and some sweets for motivation. Admittedly having a sweet toot, I have lots of different types of dessert in stock and this Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti is one my favorites. It has perfect balance of light sweetness and crunch, it’s absolutely divine. Try dipping it in your coffee (like I do), it’s amazing!
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RateServings: 10
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3/4 cups Sugar
- 2 medium Egg
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup Unsalted Pistachio roasted and coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Line the baking tray with parchment paper.
- Using a bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add them to the egg mixture.
- Pour in the vanilla extract and continue beating until everything is well combined.
- Fold in the chopped pistachios and cranberries.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured counter and roll into a log shape, about 17 inches, 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. The dough is quite sticky, so you may have to flour your hands to work with the log.
- Place the log on the baking tray and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
- Lower the temperature of the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Transfer the log to a chopping board. Use a serrated knife or bread knife to cut the log on the diagonal or straight angle, whichever you prefer. A straight cut will give you short slices and diagonal gives you longer ones.
- Place back the biscotti (cut side down) on the baking tray and bake one more time for about 7-10 minutes.
- Remove the baking tray again from the oven and turn the biscotti slices over and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. This second-baking method makes your biscotti dry and crunchy all the way through.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
- The biscotti can be stored for several weeks in an airtight container.
Notes
- This recipe can make 20-22 biscotti slices with 3/4-inch thickness each.
- Avoid overworking the dough, or the biscotti will be tough.
- Cut the biscotti with a serrated knife in a sawing motion without putting any pressure on the log, this will give you clean slices.
- Slice the biscotti on the diagonal for long slices (4 inches) or straight across for shorter slices (3-3 1/2 inches).
- After the 1st baking, let the biscotti log to cool down for few minutes (10-15 minutes). If you slice them too soon, you won’t achieve get clean slices. However, if you wait too long, the dough will harden, making it difficult to cut as it will be crumbly. Timing is very important here.
- Never forget to lower the temperature of your oven in the second baking of biscotti. The point of this unique method is to dry out the biscotti without burning them or browning them too much.
- After the 2nd baking, allow the biscotti to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. This will allow them to crisp even further as they cool. Biscotti can last for two weeks.
1 thought on “Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti”
Fold in the whole pistachios and dried cranberries, then flour your work surface well, and you may find it helpful to dust your hands lightly with flour, too, as the dough is quite sticky. Now form the dough into a flattish, oval ciabatta-like loaf, approx. 25 x 5 centimetres, tapering the ends slightly. Lay the biscotti dough loaf onto a piece of baking parchment on a baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until it is a pale brown colour. It may help to rotate the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time, as the base can brown quickly; this reduces the risk of the base scorching at one end.