Pistachio Cherry Biscotti
This “American” biscotti, is not as hard as the kind you might find in cellophane at your local coffee shop. The salty pistachio pairs well with the sweet, fruity cherry. You could add whatever mixins you like, but I think they’d still have been great left plain.
Make sure you don’t use the pistachio “kernels” though, their flavor is too overpowering for these. Unfortunately, that’s what I accidentally grabbed at the store so that’s what I used. I had to just imagine how much more delicious they’d have been if I’d used proper pistachios.
Cherry Pistachio Biscotti
- ½ cup chopped pistachios
- ½ cup sweet or sour dried cherries
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a large (18 x 13-inch) baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, whisk salt, baking powder, salt, and flour. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, don’t stress if your mixture looks a little curdled. Lower the mixer speed, add the flour, and mix until smooth. The dough will still be soft and sticky. Stir in the pistachios and cherries.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into a rough log about 14 inches long. It will be about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 3/4 inch thick.
Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let cool until you can handle it (5 minutes, or up to 20 minutes). Lightly but thoroughly spritz the log five minutes before cutting, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top. This will soften the crust a bit to make slicing the biscotti easier. While you wait, reduce the oven to 325°F.
Cut the biscotti into 1/4- to 3/4-inch slices. Without nuts or any add-ins, is easy to slice thin. Once you start adding chips, almonds, raisins, and other chunky ingredients, a 3/4-inch slice is more realistic. When you’re slicing, be sure to cut straight up and down, if you cut at an angle, biscotti may be thicker at the top than the bottom, and they’ll topple over during their second bake.
Set the biscotti upright on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.
