Thursday, March 1, 2012

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

 
Even though I'm not a biscotti fan, I've been wanting to make some for a while. Especially a fruity and nutty version since it adds such a zing of color to the plain brown biscotti.

The main reason I don't like biscotti is the fact that they are so crunchy. Like, hurts your gums and the roof of your mouth crunchy.

But while I was making these, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the biscotti is quite soft and lovely before putting it back into the oven for the second bake. The second bake made them the hard version that I am familiar with. However, I must say that the flavor of these was really delightful! As for the crunchiness, I found mine to be slightly soft in the middle. Whew!

(Next time I make biscotti, I'm going to add it in the oven for only 5 minutes for the second baking part. Mark my words!)
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (modified from Bake for Happy Kids)

2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 1 /2 tsp baking powder, sifted
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp finely grated orange rind
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 320°F.

Place the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla, orange rind, cranberries and pistachios and mix until a smooth dough forms. (Erika's Extra: I found that I needed to work the dough in the bowl with my hands to get it into a smooth dough.) Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead a couple of times until equal consistency. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and roll each portion into an 8 inch long log. Flatten slightly and place on a lightly greased baking tray (lined with non stick baking paper if you prefer).

Bake for 30-35 min or until firm. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to cut the logs into 3mm-6mm thick slices and place the slices on baking trays (lined with non stick baking paper if you prefer). Bake for a further 8-10 min or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool on trays.
Bake well and prosper!

3 comments:

  1. I'm very happy that you like these biscotti! I must this DH recipe is fantastic and these biscotti are so easy to make.

    You can link this page and blog hop with me and everyone else that cook or bake DH for month of March.

    To link, simple submit your post detail to the linky tool at this page, http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/beef-and-chorizo-burgers-with-beetroot.html

    To blog hop, simply copy and paste this linky HTML code into your blog post where you want the blog hop list to appear. Make sure you are in HTML view/mode when you paste in the code. Look out for "get the InLinkz code" to access to the HTML codes. And, our links will appear in your post...

    Have fun blog hopping!

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  2. Erika! I made these for my mom yesterday for Mother's Day and they were a big hit :) Only I used whole wheat flour (all my parents have at home) and almonds instead of pistachios, and I was nervous about how crumbly my dough was at first so I added a tiny bit of milk before kneading.

    Lovely blog!

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Thanks for taking time to leave a message! xo - EB