Christmas is around the corner and I am sharing with you my favorite cookie recipes. Although biscotti falls under the category of cookies, these cookies are super crunchy. Biscotti falls under the category of twice baked cookies. In fact, biscotti in Italian means twice baked.
This holiday season, I am sharing with you a biscotti recipe with a middle eastern twist. Pistachio and rosewater are my favorite classical middle eastern flavors. These would make cute gifts in the holidays and can be baked in advance and still be as good, if not better, for Christmas. Let me start with a biscotti guide.
Let’s get baking!
Should I use butter or vegetable oil?
The traditional biscotti recipe uses eggs as the only form of fat in the recipe. There is no butter, oil or milk. However, some modern recipes call for the use of some sort of fat to produce softer cookies that can be eaten alone without the need to be dunked in coffee. This is recipe uses the traditional recipe from Prato, so it is crunchy.
Why do you fold the nuts in the egg sugar mixture?
Folding the nuts in at this stage, coats them well which helps to avoid them burning.
What do I do if my dough is very sticky?
This dough is a relatively soft dough. You have two options, sprinkle your work surface with a lot of flour and shape it with your hands. My alternative preferred method that I learned from Chef Anna Olson, is to dollop it directly on the parchment lined baking sheet, into a log shape. Then, damp your hands with water or oil and shape into a log.
How do you bake biscotti?
Biscotti is baked twice. First time, the dough is shaped into logs. After the first bake, the biscotti left to cool slightly, around 20 minutes. It is very important to allow it to cool completely, otherwise the biscotti will crumble. If left for too long though, the biscotti will be too hard to slice. It is then sliced and baked again. When arranging the sliced biscotti in the tray, leave a little bit of space between pieces, to allow air to circulate.
How do you slice biscotti?
They key to slice biscotti is to use a sharp serrated knife with a thin blade. The technique is also as important. Slice the biscotti at a slight angle in back and forth motion.
Why is my biscotti hard?
Traditionally, biscotti is supposed to be super crunchy. These cookies are traditionally meant to be dunked in fortified wine. Now they are served alongside different types of coffee, or even better, hot chocolate, yum! When biscotti is cut and baked the second time, most of the moisture evaporates. If you want your biscotti slightly softer, reduce the time of the second baking.
Do I have to dip biscotti in chocolate?
No at all. In fact, usually only the bottom of the biscotti is dipped in chocolate. But I like dipping the edges at an angle. It is totally up to you.
What is the shelf life of biscotti?
Biscotti lasts for weeks at rooms temperature, making it perfect for holiday gifting. Keep it in airtight container and you’re good to go.
Give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Pistachio Rosewater Biscotti
Ingredients
- 200 g flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 150 g sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g shelled pistachios
- 1 tsp rosewater
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160 °C and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whip eggs and sugar together for about 5 minutes.
- Add rosewater and fold in pistachios.
- Whisk flour and baking powder and add gradually to the wet ingredients.
- Shape a log about 8 cm wide.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 160 °C. Cool the logs on the baking tray for 20 – 30 minutes until cool to touch but still a bit warm.
- Transfer to a cutting board and slice at an angle with a serrated knife. Each slice should be just over 1 cm thick, but thickness is totally up to your preference.
- Place back in the baking tray, leaving space between them. Return to the oven and bake for additional 15 minutes.
