Lemon Pistachio Biscotti

I recently bought a small bag of lemons, as I was making a recipe that needed a decent quantity of lemon juice. I never know how many lemons I would need, so I bought a bag that would have more than enough. I was good, and ended up with a few lemons left. I went looking for recipes, and realized that I hadn’t make biscotti in a while. I like making biscotti as it comes together easily. 

Now, I will admin that I don’t like super dry, crunchy biscotti. When you make your own, you can adjust to your own taste! The baking times mentioned below are guides, and I tended to use the shorter of the baking times. That is especially true for the biscotti once they are cut into individual cookies. I think I baked the cookies about 6-8 minutes per side. They were crunchy, but not too crunchy.

I think that lemon pairs wonderfully with pistachios, and I was so happy I had recently picked up pistachios at the store. I always think that I have pistachios, but then I check and often I had already used them. For once I was proactive and stocked up ahead. While biscotti are never my favorite, I really like the pistachios in these cookies. They add a good crunch, with the biscotti themselves being ever so slightly softer. I have made a few recipes with lemon and pistachios, I should look and see what other recipes are out there. 

Lemon Pistachio Biscotti
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3  eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup salted pistachios

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk again; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, eggs, and sugar on medium until light. Add the lemon extract and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in the pistachios with a spatula. 

Shape the dough into a log, about 4” wide and 1” tall. The length of the log will vary, probably 15” to 18”.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a cutting board and cut the log into ¾” slices. Place the cookies on the baking sheet cut side down. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, then turn the cookies and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool before icing.

Once cool, make the icing: in a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add additional lemon juice until the icing is the correct consistency. Allow the icing to set before serving. 

Recipe from Lord Byron’s Kitchen

Cinnamon Pistachio Biscotti

My husband and I often pick up special ingredients at the store when we see them. Then we have to figure out what to make with those ingredients. Sometimes it isn’t too difficult, but for this particular ingredient, we had to think a little more. We had bought cinnamon pistachios, which naturally goes into any number of recipes, but we wanted to make a couple different things with the pistachios.

We both looked online and found a few recipes, including this recipe for biscotti. I will say that biscotti can be awfully dry, so I don’t usually bake mine quite as long as the recipe states. For this recipe, I used cinnamon pistachios in place of the cinnamon and plain pistachios. I still added some ginger, because I love ginger, but it’s up to you. I left out the cloves; that seemed like too much. Don’t skip the cinnamon chips. They really do add a lot!

Since I want to make multiple recipes with the cinnamon pistachios, I ended up making half of the recipe of biscotti, instead of the full recipe that I have here. Biscotti is quite forgiving, and you can mix it up somewhat depending on what you like or don’t like. I really liked the flavor of this biscotti, which is different for me! The cinnamon pistachios are excellent, and I am glad that I have more to use in another recipe!

Cinnamon Pistachio Biscotti
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/3 cup cinnamon chips

4 ounces white chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Once the dough is almost together, stir in the pistachios and cinnamon chips.

Divide the dough into two halves, shaping each half into a log about 12 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

Slice each dough log cross-wise into ¾” thick slices. Place the slices flat on the baking sheet.

Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven; the cookies will firm up as they cool

Melt about 4 ounces of white chocolate with 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled biscotti. Allow the white chocolate to set before serving the biscotti.

Recipe from Italian Food Forever

Apricot and Pistachio Biscotti

Apricots are an ingredient that I don’t always have on hand, but right now I have a small quantity that I don’t want to go to waste. Mine are already chopped, so that can be limiting, as some recipes call for whole dried apricots and others want them to be chopped. This recipe for biscotti uses a small quantity of chopped dried apricots, and biscotti are usually quick to put together.

The method for assembling biscotti can be different. Since it is a dry cookie, it doesn’t rely on creaming the butter and sugar then adding the flour. You could likely mix them that way and they would still turn out, but this has you add the dry ingredients and mix-ins and then add the eggs and orange juice. I’m not at all a baker who follows fussy recipes, and I follow the given recipe, but I also feel that my baking instincts are pretty strong.

This is a slightly smaller recipe and you make one log of dough instead of two, which is good. It can be hard to shape two pieces of dough into the same size, so you don’t have to worry about that. I roughly follow the size guidelines, but shaping them differently will just need slightly different baking times. I tend to like biscotti that isn’t so dry, so I tend to bake mine a little less, but it purely depends on your taste. My not-quite-so-dry biscotti

Apricot and Pistachio Biscotti
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup of pistachios, roughly chopped
½ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
Juice and zest of half an orange
Additional flour

Heat the oven to 320 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder and mix on low. Add the chopped pistachios and apricots and stir on low to incorporate. Add the beaten eggs, orange zest and juice and mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be sticky.

Shape the dough into a log about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. You may need to use additional flour to successfully shape the dough.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until set and a golden crust starts to form. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the biscotti to cool, about 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Transfer the biscotti to a cutting board and cut into pieces about ½” thick. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The cookies will be dry. Cool the biscotti completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Finding Time for Cooking

Chai Spice Biscotti

The library where I work is open, despite the fact that classes are online. It has been very quiet, but I do enjoy working with the students who do come into the library. For staffing, a handful of folks come in each day, but it can be hard to track. We have a calendar that provides who will be on campus each day. While it is not perfect, I find it to be so helpful. When baking for work, I vary what I make depending on who is there, avoiding gluten, dairy, or chocolate as needed. This time, I was looking for dairy-free ideas.

Dairy free is not too hard, as I can at least use eggs. I have vegan butter and that works in many instances. I had marked this recipe for biscotti some time ago but took a closer look at the required ingredients and it contains no butter AT ALL! While that is unusual, it does happen with biscotti. It originally called for cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, and white pepper, but I figured I could adjust. I used regular pepper, used nutmeg instead of star anise, and left out the cardamom. I have bad memories of baking with cardamom, so I avoid it!

This biscotti recipe makes about two dozen, which is a nice petite amount. I am never great at shaping the dough into the perfect size, but it is not critical, as long as the dough is the same thickness throughout. I bake my biscotti for slightly less time than the original recipe, so the cookies are not as hard. They are still crunchy, so no worries there! Given that these biscotti have no added butter or shortening, the texture did not change from other biscotti recipes. These biscotti have a good spiciness, no matter which spices you use, and the glaze adds a hint of sweetness.

Chai Spice Biscotti
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons strongly brewed chai tea

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and egg yolks and mix on medium until combined. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When mixed, the dough may look dry.

Divide the dough in halves and shape each half into a loaf about 9” x 3” and about ½ inch thick.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Slice the loaves into biscotti slices, between ½” and ¾” thick. Place back on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and enough chai tea to make a smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled biscotti and allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Tastes Lovely

Nutella Biscotti

I really love the combination of hazelnut and chocolate! Sometimes that comes in the form of my own combination of ingredients, and sometimes it’s in the form of Nutella. I have made quite a few recipes with Nutella, and I continue to find new and different recipes to try. Now, I will be honest that biscotti aren’t my favorite cookies, but I have learned that make them more to my liking. I’m not a fan of dry cookies, so I tend to shorten the second baking time. They are drier, but not as dry as some biscotti.

The recipe for these biscotti is very simple, and it makes a petite batch. Honestly, 3 tablespoons of Nutella aren’t that much, so they don’t have a strong chocolate flavor. I did make one change to the recipe. The original recipe called for walnuts and it seemed very strange to use anything but chopped hazelnuts in this cookie. I know other nuts would work in a pinch, but hazelnuts are the appropriate choice here.

Biscotti is the cookie you want to make if you don’t have a lot of time. I think I had these started and finished in under an hour. They are simply mix, shape, and bake, and I suppose that chopping the nuts is the most labor-intensive part of this recipe. My dough was sticky, and I did end up adding a little extra flour to reduce the softness/stickiness. I baked mine just a few minutes less the second time, and they are crunchy but not so dry. As I said, they aren’t so sweet, but it doesn’t feel like you are missing anything!

Nutella Biscotti
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Nutella
1 egg +2 yolks
1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar, Nutella, and eggs on medium until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir on low until the dough comes together. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts. If the dough is too liquid, add a small amount of flour and mix until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into halves and shape each half into a log, about 3 inches wide.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the biscotti from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.

Slice the logs into cookies, each about an inch thick. Return the cut biscotti to the baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until dried to your liking. Remove from the oven and cool before serving.

Recipe from Pickled Plum

Gingerbread Biscotti

If you’re in a rush this holiday season, biscotti are a great cookie to make. While not everyone in my family is the biggest fan of biscotti, I do like them. I also find that homemade biscotti isn’t nearly as dry as biscotti you get from a store, and I don’t want my biscotti to be too dry. I found this recipe and thought it was interesting, with the added spices and molasses that make it gingerbread. The original recipe called for macadamia nuts, but I used sliced almonds. Feel free to use whichever nut you like!

Biscotti are a good time-saver because you make the dough, shape into a log or two, bake, slice, then bake again. It may seem like many steps, but it isn’t at all. Being able to bake all of the cookies at a time is a lot quicker than having to bake up different batches of cookies. Since I made a half recipe, I just shaped the dough into one log and baked it up. Wow did my house smell good while these were baking!

As I don’t like biscotti that is too dry, for the second bake I baked the biscotti for 15 minutes, rather than 30. They were already on the dry side when I sliced them, so I didn’t want to go too far. Be careful when cutting them into pieces, as they can be crumbly. One biscotti broke in half completely and another crumbled at the edge. Thankfully, the rest were ok. The white chocolate adds a nice sweetness and makes the biscotti a little bit fancier.

Gingerbread Biscotti
1-1/8 cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup molasses
½ cup chopped almonds
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg, stirring until well combined, then add the molasses. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Once the dough has come together, fold in the almond to distribute evenly though the dough.

Shape the dough into a flattened log, about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough looks dry. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.

Slice the dough into biscotti with a serrated knife, each cookie about ½” wide. Place cut-side down on the baking sheet.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or longer if you like especially crispy biscotti. Allow to cool.

Once the cookies are cool, top with white chocolate. Melt the white chocolate and shortening in the microwave using low power. Dip the biscotti in the white chocolate or drizzle with the white chocolate. Allow to set before serving.

Recipe from Flavor the Moments

Apple Cider Biscotti

I do love the flavors of fall, and apple cider is one of those great flavors. One year when my husband and I traveled to Michigan, we visited a cider farm. It was during the summer, so it was a little off season, but they still offered ice-cold cider, and it is just about the best thing ever. We buy apple cider at the store, if we can find cider that is local, but it isn’t quite the same as the wonderful cider we had at the cider farm.

I looked at a couple of biscotti recipes, and I thought that I would make these since they called for apple cider. They also contain cinnamon, which is a favorite of mine. I think that the other biscotti recipes I came across will eventually get made, but that’s for another day. I do have to say that I realize that some folks don’t care for biscotti all that much, but I do enjoy making them. I will say that biscotti are the most difficulty cookies to photograph!

These biscotti are easy to make, and they are quite forgiving. When I first mixed the butter and sugar, by the time I added the cider the mixture separated. I was worried but hoped that it would come together. I figured apple cider is an uncommon ingredient and perhaps it reacts strangely, so I proceeded and thankfully the dough came together once the flour mixture was added. Otherwise I didn’t have any issue, although I always need more glaze than the recipe makes! The apple cider flavor of these biscotti is subtle, but they make a nice crunchy cookie.

Apple Cider Biscotti
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 tablespoons apple cider
3-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons apple cider
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs on medium until blended. Add the apple cider and stir to incorporate. Don’t worry if the mixture separates somewhat. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into two halves. Shape each half into a log about 12 inches long. Place on the prepared baking sheet and flatten to about ½” thick, make two logs that are approximately 12” long and 3-1/2” wide. Allow room between the logs of dough for the dough to spread.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Working in small batches, mix the flour mixture into butter mixture until all of the flour mixture has been added to the butter mixture and is well blended.

Bake for 25 minutes, until the logs are golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into ½” slices. Place the cookies cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the biscotti are firm. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool before glazing.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons apple cider, and cinnamon. Whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add additional apple cider. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled biscotti.

Recipe from Souffle Bombay

Cinnamon Oatmeal Honey Biscotti

If you are looking for a recipe that makes a small quantity, I encourage you to look at biscotti recipes. I went through Pinterest and identified a couple of different recipes that I thought would be good. With biscotti, you can usually cut the recipe in half and make a smaller batch. In this case, the recipe made just one biscotti “loaf,” which in the end makes just 12 biscotti. That was perfect for what I was looking for.

I don’t make biscotti all that frequently, and that’s for a couple of reasons. I know that some folks don’t like biscotti all that much, or simply want a softer, chewy cookie. I tend to fall in this camp, as I prefer biscotti after it has only baked once, and it is much softer. The other reason is quite silly, but I think that biscotti are the hardest thing to photograph. It doesn’t seem like photos do a good job of capturing the biscotti. This time I photographed the cookies on the cooling rack, which seemed to be the best option.

Biscotti isn’t hard to make, but it does take a little longer since you bake them twice. This uses a small quantity of standard ingredients, so you may be able to make the with what you have on hand. Honey is the most unusual ingredient, but I had just enough for this recipe. Perhaps a trip to the local honey farm is in the plans this weekend! The only change that I made for this recipe is the time spent baking the biscotti the second time. The original recipe had you bake it 25 minutes, but 15 minutes would be better. These cookies aren’t very sweet, and the small amount of glaze helps add a touch of sweetness.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Honey Biscotti

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

About 1 tablespoon milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and almonds; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until smooth. Add the egg and beat again on medium. Add the honey and vanilla and stir to combine.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. With wet hands, shape the dough into a loaf, approximately 10 inches long and 4 inches wide.

Bake for 25 minutes and then remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Allow the biscotti to cool for 5 minutes, and then cut the cookies into ¾” slices with a serrated knife. Stand up the cut biscotti on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To glaze: whisk together the powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons milk. Add more milk if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the cooled biscotti.

Recipe from My Recipe Reviews