Tag Archives: Antique Biscuits

What’s Cooking?…Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

Hello Dear Friends ans Readers, welcome to todays post and a delicious biscotti recipe.  Biscotti could be called antique biscuits.  They have been around for a long time in various forms.

Biscotti were originally made to keep for long periods and survive extended sea journeys. They are such a clever biscuit and are easy to bake.  No special equipment required to make them.  The ingredients are simple and no fat is used.  They are cooked twice.

Biscotti are still a very appealing biscuit, hundreds of years later. They  are delicious to have with a cup of tea or coffee.  Good for dunking as they are on the hard side.  Their shape and colours look great too.  Biscotti make a lovely gift because of their excellent keeping qualities and look wonderful packed in a glass jar or wrapped in cellophane, if there’s any left!  Christmas is also a great time to make them, especially with their green nuts and red cranberries!

This is how I do it.

Ingredients

3 large free range eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or grated zest of one orange
2 cups of strong plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 g pistachios

100g dried cranberries

Method

Line a large tray with baking paper.  Set oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Put the eggs into a large mixing bowl.  Add the vanilla and whisk through.  Add the sugar and whisk until well combined.  Now add the flour, baking powder, pistachios and cranberries.  Use a wooden spoon or spatula and mix to combine well and ensure ingredients are evenly distributed.

Form the mixture into two logs on the baking tray.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until beginning to turn a little golden and firm to touch.

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Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  If time allows, wrap in foil and allow to stand overnight.

The next day, use a sharp knife to slice the biscuits obliquely to about 7mm thick.  See the lovely colours.  Set the slices onto a baking sheet and bake at about 160 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are slightly golden and firm and dry.

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Remove from the oven.  Cool.  Store in an airtight container.  Makes about 40 biscotti.

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This is one of my favourite biscuit recipes.  I think they are very classy and not too rich.  They have great keeping qualities but without compromising delicious taste.

Variation

Substitute 1 cup of raw almonds and 1 tsp almond essence for the pistachios and cranberries to make almond biscotti.

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Enjoy your biscuits!

Susie