Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday Biscotti

Posted by - Jen ;) from Pieces of Me






Biscotti

Adapted from Holiday Biscotti

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
* 2/3 cup dried cranberries
* 12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
* Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

*My Note: I did not add pistachios because they were WAY too expensive! And I do not like white chocolate so I dipped them in milk chocolate. I left some without chocolate to have with coffee as well. And can you believe, I could not find red or green sugar? ugh! but anyway, this was fun! I think the Lemon and Cranberries made these the perfect cookie!

They were absolutely delicious!! =)

6 comments:

Rena said...

They look delicious! I love cranberries in everything :) Great photos.

Tina said...

They look really yummy! And like the kind you pay good money for in Starbucks! Well done you!

Debbie @ OtRD said...

Looks amazing! Happy Holidays!!

Anonymous said...

They look great! I have all the ingredients so I may give them a go.
Also, for the colored sugar, you can make your own. I took regular sugar and added a few drop of food coloring and stirred it around. Once I liked the color I spread out the sugar on foil on a cookie sheet and let it dry. After an hour or two of air drying, I placed it in a 200 degree oven with the rack all the way at the top and cooked it for 5 minutes. You don't have to bake it but it will help set the color a bit in the sense that it won't bleed on your fingers as bad!

Colleen said...

Those are beautiful and I love the ingredients! Must try...

Joanne said...

These look beautiful Jen! I love chocolate dipped anything, but especially cookies. I bought my pistachios at Trader Joe's and they weren't super expensive. They are my go-to place for nuts.