Going Nuts for the Holidays

you need a peaceful home and some biscotti

me, all the time.

I love to heat up my house in the winter by cooking. The wall heaters are fine, sure, but when I walk into a home warmed by good food, I felt comforted. That’s what I want for everyone. Shit is way too rough in the world for your home to feel anything but peaceful. You need one safe place to let your guard down, and actually, just maybe, enjoy life. Is there someone at your house making it less than peaceful? Lock them out and get cooking. They don’t deserve to even smell what you’re making. Hopefully they’ll get their shit together after that and the in meantime, you’ll make yourself a treat. Let’s get to it because I'm sharing my recipe for Pistachio Biscotti for the holidays. That place of yours isn’t gonna heat itself up right?

North America has been experiencing Biscotti Burnout ™ since the 90s. Too many dry, rock hard biscotti have cracked teeth or crumbled apart for people to continue craving them. This is not biscotti’s fault. It’s ours. We failed biscotti by letting too many shitty recipes run wild when excellent biscotti is one of the easiest cookies to make. The only trick is that they take a little longer to make than most cookies because you have to bake them twice. In fact, their name originates from the Latin biscoctus, which means “twice cooked”. First, you make a simple dough and shape it into two flat logs to bake. Easy. Then you let the logs cool and slice them into your classic biscotti shape and bake them again. The result is a nice sturdy cookie with a delicate crumb. They’re the perfect combination of strength and softness, just like you.

I use pistachios in mine because I love them and think the color is beautiful, but you could use whatever nut is affordable in your neck of the woods. Maybe you used all your pistachios making those controversial mortadella cookies, no judgment here. These biscotti would be great with hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, whatever you’re feeling. Don’t skip the almond extract though. I find that no matter what nut you chose, the almond exact helps make them tastier even nuttier which is exactly what you want. This recipe is really just a guide to get you making your own biscotti for the holidays. You could zest a little orange into the batter or throw in some rosemary. Dip half biscotti in chocolate or just drizzle chocolate on them as they cool to make the biscotti look extra fancy if you are giving them out as gifts. They keep perfectly for up to a week so make a double batch if you are having company over the holidays and watch them get devoured long before they go stale.

Pistachio Biscotti

Makes about 30

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup almond flour*

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup nondairy milk like almond

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup cane sugar

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Zest of half a small lemon

¾ cup chopped pistachios**

Extra sugar and chopped pistachios to sprinkle on top

Warm up your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with some parchment.

In a small bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set that aside. Now mix the milk, oil, sugars, extracts, and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Once that is all mixed up, stir in the nuts. Dump in the flour mixture and gently mix this together until you’ve got yourself a dough.

Now grab half that dough and form it into a rectangle about ½ inch high, 2 inches wide, and 6 inches long right on your prepared baking sheet. Do this with the remaining dough too and place it right next to the rectangle. Brush all the sides of the dough with a little nondairy milk and sprinkle it with some sugar and some chopped pistachios.

Place all that in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet around after 15 minutes. The top should look a little golden while the bottom should be a nice brown after 30 minutes have passed. Now let these cool for at least 20 minutes before you start slicing.

Once the dough has cool enough, grab your sharpest knife and slice through the baked dough to create biscotti about the width of a piece of scotch tape. This thickness will give you the most crunch without having them crumble apart on you. Now place them cut side up back on the cookie sheet and bake them for another 12-15 minutes until they are nice and toasted on both sides. Let them cool a little before diving in so they can reach their final crispy form.

Serve with coffee or a sweet wine for dipping. Store in an airtight container for up to a week but honestly, they’ve never lasted more than 3 days here.

* The almond flour gives these a great texture. You can make your own by running some blanched almonds in your food processor until they’re a flour-like consistency. Don’t have it or don’t wanna spend the money? Replace it with more all-purpose flour. The biscotti will still be good.

** If you want a nuttier taste, go with roasted, salted pistachios. Want a nice green color? Go with raw.

Pistachio Biscotti

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Have you made biscotti before? Have you also been suffering from Biscotti Burnout™️ since the 90s? Do you give baked goods out to friends, family, and neighbors around the holidays? Let’s chat about it in the comments.

xoxo,

Michelle