Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Cranberry pistachio Christmas biscotti are a perfectly elegant, colorful, and crunchy festive dessert that is sure to please! These crunchy twice-baked cookies can be enjoyed plain or with chocolate.
Servings: 12 biscotti
Cost: $0.67 per serving
Equipment
- long, serrated knife
- double boiler for melting chocolate
Ingredients
For the Biscotti
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest freshly grated; more to taste
- ½ cup pistachios shelled
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Optional Garnishes and Decorations
- milk chocolate melted
- dark chocolate melted
- white chocolate melted
- pistachios finely chopped
- dried cranberries finely chopped
- orange zest
- colorful holiday nonpareils
Instructions
Making the Biscotti
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, ginger, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and about a teaspoon (or slightly more to taste by about 1 teaspoon, if desired) fresh zest of an orange until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and gradually add in the flour mixture. Dough will be very stiff. Add in the pistachios and cranberries.
- Flour both hands. Working directly on the prepared baking sheet, scrape the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape into a 12x4-inch-long log that is approximately ¾-inches thick. Flatten the top slightly.
- Bake until lightly golden and the top begins to haze and crack, about 35 to 38 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven leaving the oven on and allow the log to cool directly on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.
- Remove the log carefully to a sturdy cutting board. Use a long-serrated knife to slice the log into ½-inch-wide slices. Place the slices cut-side-down onto the same parchment-lined baking sheet and bake again for 8 minutes before flipping and baking for another 8 minutes. the biscotti will be golden in color.
- Cool the biscotti directly on the baking sheet, about 45 minutes. Then remove each cookie carefully to a wire rack to harden for about an hour prior to dipping in chocolate.
Decorating with Pistachio Cranberry 'Sprinkles'
- Finely chop pistachios and dried cranberries and add to a bowl. Use your fingers to toss the two together. Dip one end of a biscotti into melted chocolate allowing any excess to drip. Immediately use one hand to gently sprinkle a bit of the pistachio-cranberry mixture over the melted chocolate.
- Place the cookie back on the wire rack atop a parchment-lined cookie sheet to catch the drips. Follow the pistachio-cranberry mixture with a bit of additional freshly zested orange. Allow the chocolate to set before serving or storing.
Drizzling with White Chocolate
- After dipping the biscotti into the milk or dark chocolate, melt white chocolate and use a teaspoon to drizzle back and forth. You can also omit the milk or dark chocolate altogether and use strictly white. Place the cookie back on the wire rack atop a parchment-lined cookie sheet to catch the drips. Allow the chocolate to set before serving or storing. Garnish biscotti with finely chopped pistachios while chocolate is still soft if desired.
Notes
- For the absolute tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients--especially for the chocolate.
- When shaping the biscotti log, I place a wooden ruler directly on my baking sheet so that my size is accurate, not just approximate. This matters because it ensure you'll get the correct number and width of biscotti. If they're thinner than ½-inch, they will be prone to breaking.
- Before slicing, turn the log slightly to an angle. Your biscotti will be slightly longer in length while giving you the same number of cookies.
- To cut biscotti without it breaking, use a long, serrated knife. Use a back-and-forth motion while applying very little pressure on the knife. Yes, it will take a hot minute to slice each biscotti, but the finished cookies are gorgeous and look like they've been factory sliced.
- Wait until biscotti are completely cool before dipping into chocolate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1biscotti | Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 128mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 67IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 2mg