Description
Orange Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti Crunch bakes up crisp and golden with toasted nuts, bright orange zest, and chewy cranberries in every slice. Dip the edges in dark chocolate, and you’ve got a cookie/biscotti that was made for slow coffee mornings.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1.25 cups - 150 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg, about 70 g, room temp
- 1/3 cup - 70 g castor sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup - 60 g pistachios
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup - 50 g dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/8 tsp almond essence, up to 1/2 tsp if you love almond
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract, optional
- Zest from 1 medium orange
- 1/2 cup (approximately) 80 to 100 g dark chocolate for dipping
Instructions
- First, place the 50 g dried cranberries in a small bowl and cover with warm water.
- Let them soak for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Drain well and pat completely dry with a paper towel, or you will have very sticky dough.
- Preheat your oven to 320⁰F (160⁰C). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Spread the 60 g pistachios and 1/4 cup toasted almonds on a tray and toast for 2 to 3 minutes if they’re not already toasted.
- Let them cool fully before adding to the dough. Roughly chop the almonds (or use slivered almonds), if needed.
- In a bowl, sift together 150 g plain flour and ½ tsp baking powder.
- Stir in the orange zest from 1 medium orange and the 1/4 cup desiccated coconut.
- Rub the zest lightly into the flour with your fingertips so it doesn’t clump.
- In another bowl, whisk the 1 large egg about 70 g until slightly frothy.
- Add 70 g castor sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Beat for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and slightly thickened; lighter and fluffier.
- Stir in 1/8 tsp almond essence and 1/8 tsp vanilla extract if using.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture.
- Use a spatula to fold gently until no dry flour remains. The dough will look sticky. That’s normal.
- Fold in the 60 g pistachios, chopped toasted almonds, and well-dried cranberries.
- Mix until evenly distributed. If the dough feels overly sticky, dust with 1 to 2 tsp extra flour, but don’t overdo it.
- Lightly flour your hands and counter. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.
- Shape each into a log about 20 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 2 cm thick.
- Place on the lined tray and slightly flatten the tops so they bake evenly. Leave space between them because they spread a bit.
- Bake on the middle rack at 320⁰F (160⁰C) for 30 minutes until firm and lightly golden. If one side browns more, rotate the tray during the last 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then lower oven to 300⁰F (150⁰C).
- Using a serrated knife, slice the logs diagonally into 0.8 cm thick slices. If they crumble slightly, that’s okay, just be gentle when slicing.
- Lay slices cut side down on the tray.
- Bake at 300⁰F (150⁰C) for 6 minutes, flip them over, then bake another 6 minutes until dry and lightly golden. For extra crunch, add 2 more minutes per side.
- Cool completely on a rack.
- Melt 80 to 100 g dark chocolate gently over a bowl of simmering water or in short microwave bursts. Dip one edge of each biscotti and let it set on baking paper.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
- If you have any left by then, and they soften, bake again at 300⁰F (150⁰C) for 5 to 10 minutes to crisp them back up.
Notes
Created, prepared, tried, and tested Preshana
