Lemon Pistachio Biscotti
Yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day and in case you are not aware, I am a secretary. My boss is so great, she gave me the afternoon off. A whole afternoon in the middle of the week all to myself!
It was like Christmas came early.
So what was I going to do with my free afternoon? Bake, of course.
After several days of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, Wednesday brought thunderstorms. In fact, while I was in the grocery store picking up a few ingredients, the heavens opened up and the rain came down in buckets. And unfortunately, I had left my umbrella in the car.
I got home, dried off, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen with the windows open so I could listen to the sound of the rain. I had never made biscotti before so I wasn’t sure how everything would come together, but the recipe was simple enough and I knew that I had a winner when a warm, lemony scent filled the house.
And the first bite sealed the deal, these little cookies are awesome. They are very crisp, as they should be, but not so much that you’re afraid you’ll chip a tooth. The saltiness of the pistachios paired nicely with the freshness of the lemon zest. And the overall effect is a biscotti that is flavorful and delicious.
And comforting. Dunked into a hot cup of coffee, they were the perfect end to a chilly spring afternoon.
Lemon Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups shelled pistachios
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the pistachios on a baking sheet into a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Fold in the pistachios.
- Divide the dough in half. Form each into a log 12 inches long and 1 inch tall on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are just starting to brown. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes, then slice on a diagonal into 12 1-inch slices. Put the cookies back on the sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes, then flip over and bake on the other side for 8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- I dipped a few of mine in white chocolate and they were amazing!
I absolutely adore biscotti! Yours looks delicious!! I love the final photo in the coffee cup! Here's my fave biscotti recipe: Almond Biscotti http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/almond_biscotti.htm
Thanks for sharing this!
~Sophia
http://www.chewonthatblog.com
Your biscottis are fantastic!
I see why you named your blog completely delicious because this biscotti looks completely delicious! Do you live in Los Angeles? We had some random rain here earlier this week also.
The biscotti look delicious! Such a treat. I made scones for the first time the other day and was quite pleased with the result. This recipe is now next on my list.
Thanks!
jessyburke88@gmail.com
Your biscotti really do look perfect. And I love that you used salted pistachios in this recipe. Sometimes that tiny little bit of saltiness adds an enormous amount to the overall flavor of a cookie, a piece of biscotti, etc. Your photos are lovely, too–very clear and bright!
I know just what you mean about using unexpected free time to–what else??–bake! And I love listening to the rain through the open window when I'm in the kitchen as well. There's something calming and wonderful about it, isn't there?
🙂 Jane
I Martha Stewart's version without lemon, and they were bland. Yours are much better. I am never making pistachio cookies again without some other flavor added. Lemon was perfect!
Pingback: Christmas Biscotti « Sarah's Cooking
Pingback: Lemon Pisachio Biscotti | Cooked by Zook
This is the perfect recipe for us. I used orange zest in place of lemon since we are huge orange flavor fans. I also added chocolate chips and reduced the sugar by 1/4cup as a result.
I make them so often and they don’t last very long. Thank you!
The method says baking powder but not listed in the ingredients
I just started making this bisfotti and got tho the baking powder and said, huh? Did anyone answer this question? How much did you end up using?
How much baking powder?
I have been making this recipe for years. Comes out perfect every time and the smell while cooking is amazing.