The Hungryman and I had been looking forward to this past weekend for a very long time. For once, we didn't have any plans and neither of us had much work to do. The unfamiliar frigid weather presented the perfect opportunity for lounging around in our PJs all weekend long, and that's exactly what we did. We got some takeout (which happens very rarely), caught up on some TV shows, the Hungryman brewed beer (he shall be sharing about this endeavor soon), and I baked biscotti. If we were going to be cooped up inside, the sweet aroma of fresh baked goods was a must! With the holidays coming up, my inspiration for this treat comes from all the flavors I love during this time - cranberries + pistachios, peppermint, and of course, chocolate.
I slightly adapted from my almond blueberry biscotti made with whole wheat pastry flour. Seriously, biscotti are so easy to bake and can be made ahead of time.
Dunk this in a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and grab a spot by the fireplace to keep yourself warm and fuzzy both inside and out. These holiday biscotti make for a perfect gift, too!
Ingredients
Dry:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Wet:
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbs butter melted
- 1 Tbs orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup pistachios pieces
Sauce:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup crushed mint candy
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and add to dry mixture. Stir until well blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios. Knead dough in the bowl. It will become sticky so lightly flour your hands or coat them with cooking spray before shaping it into logs. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a log. Place dough logs on a greased baking sheet. Flatten each log to 1 in. thickness.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden. Remove logs from pan and place on wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Cut into ½ in. slices on the diagonal using a serrated knife.
- Lower oven temperature to 250°F. Arrange slices cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake on other side for an additional 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- In the meantime, melt chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Dip cooled biscotti to about ¼-inch depth and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle with candy crumbles. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate to set.
Laura @Petite AllergyTreats says
These look wonderful Min! I've never tried a biscotti… I know, strange but I've only recently became a coffee drinking after having kids. I'll definitely need to try making my own. Thanks for sharing at Saturday Night Fever.
Jen @ West Street Story says
Thanks so much for linking up this recipe at Tasty Tuesdays last week. I chose to have it be one of my features for this week!! Hope to see you around Tasty Tuesdays over at West Street Story again soon!
https://www.weststreetstory.com/tasty-tuesday-39-2/
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
Don't you just love lounging weekends like that! We cherish them. And how about this perfect holiday Biscotti. It looks wonderful. I was at Sur la Table yesterday and saw they had a container of small crushed peppermint candy cane. I grabbed one and wondered what I was going to use it for ... and voila. Thanks for this recipe.
Julie @ This Gal Cooks says
I love lazy weekends like that. I have been looking forward to the current weekend because it's the first weekend of the fall that I haven't had to worry about school! The semester is over with and I don't have to worry about classes until January! Yeah!
Great recipe, Min. We love pistachios at my house so this would be a winner. Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Mondays. Pinned!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
heading over right now!
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
Oh, yum! This blend of flavours matches my tastes perfectly 🙂 They look so pretty too! I'm glad you got a weekend to relax as I definitely relate to how good that feels when life is busy (and your life has been really busy of late).
Min says
Thanks, Kari! I know! It felt soo good to not think about anything. It rarely happens and I took full advantage ;).
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I drink coffee everyday and biscotti is a great company to go with it. However I've never made homemade biscotti. It "looks" a little bit of work but maybe my main reason is that I'm afraid I eat it a few pieces a day with my coffee throughout a day! =P I love your combination. Cranberry and pistachio is always great combo, but I love whole flavor here!
Min says
Oh how I wish I could drink coffee everyday! I'm trying to stay away from caffeine as much as possible for the time being but I've been failing miserably as of late. I, too, was intimidated by the thought of making biscotti, but trust me, if I can do it so can you! 😉
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
Sounds like you have a great weekend! I love the weekends when there is nothing planned and you can just relax, bake and enjoy yourself. I love biscotti and would love to try this version dipped in peppermint chocolate. Have a great week, Min!
Min says
Yup! It was a glorious weekend..I miss it already hehe. Your cranberry and pistachio biscotti looks sooo good too! Don't you just love that combo? Hope you have a wonderful week as well!
Debi at Life Currents says
Not only would this be great with my morning coffee, this would make a great Christmas gift!!! Thanks for sharing them at Foodie Parties!
~Debi <3
Min says
Thank you, Debi, for stopping by and for sharing 😉