Italian Pistachio Biscotti Food

PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lay the pistachios on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted. Remove from the oven.
• In an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla; mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the pistachios until evenly distributed.
• Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by 1-inch high. Place the logs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes and then place on a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 12 1-inch thick pieces. Put the cookies back on the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the other side for another 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.

EASY BISCOTTI RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• In a small bowl whisk flour and baking powder.
• Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer like this one, beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add one egg at a time, beating gently until combined.
• Add the pistachios, cardamom, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon until combined.
• Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Dust the lined baking sheet with flour. Spoon the dough on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat your oven to 350 degrees F, adjusting a rack in the middle.
• Take the dough out of the fridge. Using floured hands, form a log that's about 12 inches long (it doesn't need to be perfect. The dough will spread during baking).
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.
• At this point, the dough should still be quite soft. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 20 minutes. Take a serrated knife and cut the log into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange the biscotti slices flat in one layer on the baking sheet, keep them about 1/2 inch apart.
• Reduce the oven heat to 275 degrees F. Bake for another 30-35 minutes, turning the biscotti cookies over halfway through until crisp. Remove from the heat and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Once cooled completely, you can store the biscotti in a loosley covered glass jar or container.

HOLIDAY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• 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.

PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Position rack in center of oven.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Whisk eggs, sugar, butter, oil, vanilla and almond extracts and lemon peel in a large bowl.
• Gradually stir in dry ingredients until smooth.
• Stir in nuts.
• Form dough into a 15x4 ½-inch log or prepared sheet.
• Bake 30 minutes until edges are lightly browned and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool for 15 minutes.
• Keep oven on.
• With serrated knife, cut log on angle into 18 ½" thick slices.
• Lay slices flat on cookie sheet and bake until bottom of cookie turn golden about 10-12 minutes.
• Turn cookies over and bake 10-12 minutes more.
• Cool cookies on wire racks.
• Note: if you can't find pistachio, you can substitute almonds.

PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter and sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and hand-held electric beaters). Cream butter and sugar at high speed until pale, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Beat in lemon zest and almond and vanilla extracts.
• In a separate medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. At low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture. As dough is coming together, add the pistachios and mix until incorporated. You will have a soft, sticky dough.
• Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. With floured hands, shape each piece into a log about 12 inches long. Place logs well apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Logs will spread as they bake.)
• Bake logs for 25 to 30 minutes, until firm and lightly browned all over. Remove and cool logs on a rack until cool enough to handle. (Don't rush this step or you risk crumbling when slicing.) Using a serrated knife, carefully cut into slices, crosswise or at a diagonal. Thicker 1/2-inch slices are easier to cut; thinner slices are a bit more elegant.
• Place slices in one layer on baking sheet and return to the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes (less for thinner slices). Flip each slice and bake again for another 5 minutes. Let cool completely, until biscotti are crisp and dry, before transferring to a tin.

PISTACHIO-ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest and beat just until combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Add the nuts and anise seeds and mix until combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a 12-inch-long log. Transfer the log to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into 1/2 -inch-thick slices. Place the biscotti cut side up on the lined baking sheet and bake for an additional 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store the biscotti in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 2 weeks.

PISTACHIO CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Place cranberries in a bowl and sprinkle with the orange juice.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually mixing in to the creamed mixture.
• Stir in the pistachios and lemon peel.
• Drain the cranberries and stir in to the dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds.
• Shape each piece in to a 12 inch by 2 inch log.
• Place on a baking sheet covered with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
• Cool for 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board, and cut each log into about 20 slices with a serrated knife (cut at an angle).
• Place the cut side down on baking sheet coated with cooking spray and bake for 12-15 minutes turning once.
• Remove to wire racks to cool.
• For the icing, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon peel in a small bowl. Stir in just enough milk until achieving a drizzling consistency.
• Drizzle over biscotti, and store in an airtight container.