Cranberry, Pistachio Biscotti (Cantuccini)

Bits of deep red tartness from the cranberries. Slivers of green from the nutty pistachios. Perfect for dunkin’ in your cozy drinks during these cold days. What could be better? Biscotti!

Cranberry, Pistachio Biscotti

This last Tuesday, the 16th of December, my high school sweetheart and I celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary (25 blissful years). Yes, our Silver! The years went by like warp speed! We celebrated the days on the East Coast. The Big Apple was all decked out for the holidays and we couldn’t have lucked out any better with such fantastic weather! What a festive experience to visit New York during the holiday season. Since this was Hubbs first visit to the big city, I was hoping to take in a lot of sights and that he would love it, like I do. That big city allure must have worked its holiday magic just right because my best friend was looking over possibilities of visiting again soon, just hours after we just returned home from a full day of an exhausting commute!

In my carry on bag was a tasty stash of these homemade and pretty cranberry, pistachio biscotti.

The plan was to share these holiday, color-coordinated biscotti on TC last week and before we left this last Sunday morning. But last minute, by the hairline posts, sometimes take backseat with all the other preparations that need to be made before leaving on holiday or travel plans (packing, house prep, corgi kids sitters, last minute arrangements, etc.).

I’m in luv with homemade biscotti and have now appointed them my new favorite “type” of cookie.

Biscotti, also referred to as cantuccini, are twice-baked cookies that are said to originate from the Italian city of Prato. In the United States, the word biscotti has come to mean these twice-baked oblong cookies. However, in Italy, biscotti refers to cookies, crackers or dunking biscuits in general (it’s like our blanket or general word for cookies).

Cranberry, Pistachio Biscotti (Cantuccini)

What I like about Italian biscotti (by biscotti, I will mean cantuccini for the rest of the post), is that it traditionally incorporates nuts and fruits with a sometimes sweet element like chocolate. At least 99% of the baked goods recipes I feature on TC do just that too! These crunchy cookies can be enjoyed as is, or used as a dunking biscuit. Homemade biscotti has a much better texture than ones you might find in a sealed wrapper, so if you have some time, make it homemade!

The pairing of the tart cranberries with the tasty pistachios make this a most complimentary match, as well as aesthetically festive and inviting.

This is a great recipe by Giada De Laurentis. I’ve added a bit more pistachios, omitted the white chocolate, and modified the method in that instead of shaping and baking one huge log, I’ve divided the dough in two parts to make two even logs. In my enthusiasm for making cantuccini, I started eating and picking at it before counting/estimating how many it made when dividing the dough. I’ll update the “yield” the next I make this recipe.

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Cranberry, Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
•  
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon salt
•  
• 2 large eggs
•  
• 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
2. 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.
3. Divide dough into two equal parts. With each dough portion, form into a 14 to 15-inch long, 1 ¼-inch wide on the prepared baking sheet. Space each log at least 3-inches apart. Bake logs until almost firm to touch, but still pale to light golden, about 28-32 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
4. Place a log on a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 9-12 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
5. 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. © Images & content: Cristina A-Moore for TeenieCakes.com.

Cristina A-Moore | Teenie Cakes

source modified from Giada De Laurentis – Food Network