Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti Recipe (with Step-by-Step)

Servings:

Yield:

4 dozen

The festive combination of red cranberries and green pistachios makes these cranberry-pistachio biscotti just right for holiday sharing. If you've never made biscotti before, this recipe is a great place to start—and it's one of Martha's favorites. Following the traditional method of biscotti making, you form the dough into long logs and bake just until firm. Once slightly cooled, you cut the logs into individual slices and return them to the oven to get crisp and lightly browned. The literal Italian translation of “biscotti” is “twice cooked” but watch out! That definition doesn’t stop some people from gobbling these up when the cookies are soft and tender, before they make it into the oven a second time.

For the second round of baking, the biscotti go into the oven at a low temperature for a much longer time than most cookies get baked. This low-and-slow method allows the moisture to evaporate from the biscotti so they become firm and crisp, with an exceptionally long shelf life.

Don't skip soaking the dried cranberries, this small step is essential: Martha likes to use fresh orange juice rather than water for soaking the fruit. Whether you use water or juice, don’t skip this step. The long baking time will make the cranberries hard and dry if you don’t give them a boost of moisture at the beginning.

Directions

Preheat oven; line baking sheet; plump cranberries and combine dry ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Place cranberries in a small bowl; add boiling water. Let stand until plump, about 15 minutes. Drain, and set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Credit:
Brie Goldman
Beat butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Credit:
Brie Goldman
Add vanilla, then flour mixture; stir in fruit and nuts:

Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Mix in cranberries and pistachios.

Credit:
Brie Goldman
Shape dough:

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a 16-by-2-inch log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush beaten egg over surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle generously with sugar.

Credit:
Brie Goldman
Bake and cool:

Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Credit:
Brie Goldman
Slice into cookies:

Place logs on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Credit:
Brie Goldman

You will need a long, sharp serrated knife to successfully cut the baked biscotti logs into slices. The serrated blade will cut neatly through the nuts and dried fruit while keeping the structure of the cookie intact.
Bake on wire rack over baking sheet; cool:

Place a wire rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange slices, cut sides down, on rack. Bake until firm to touch, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven; let biscotti cool completely on rack.

Credit:
Brie Goldman

Storing Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Variations: Choose Your Own Biscotti Adventure

Use this simple, versatile recipe as a base dough for making different flavors of biscotti with the nuts and dried fruits of your choice. Choose one or more from each category; just keep the fruit and nut measurements the same as in the original recipe.

Dried Fruit Substitutions: Diced dried apricots, pears, sour cherries, papaya, pineapple, or crystallized ginger.

Nut Substitutions: Almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts.

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Directions

Preheat oven; line baking sheet; plump cranberries and combine dry ingredients:

Beat butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time:

Add vanilla, then flour mixture; stir in fruit and nuts:

Shape dough:

Bake and cool:

Slice into cookies:

Bake on wire rack over baking sheet; cool:

Storing Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Variations: Choose Your Own Biscotti Adventure

5 More Biscotti Recipes to Try:

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