Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Finally, I'm on my last holiday related baking post. Just in time, since winter break is ending for me and school starts again tomorrow. Luckily this recipe isn't one of those "makes sense only during Christmas" recipes. These cranberry pistachio biscotti can definitely be enjoyed any day of the year.

I think of biscotti as the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. These cookies have the right amount of sweetness and crunch to tide one over until dinner, plus they're great with a cup of coffee or tea. Whenever I get the chance to make biscotti, I typically make almond biscotti. But, I thought that for the holidays, I would try something new, so instead, I made these cranberry pistachio biscotti. They're tasty, and I love how the green of the pistachios and the red of the cranberries look.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

adapted from allrecipes.com

1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups pistachios

Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix sugar and olive oil together. Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. Then mix in the cranberries and pistachios.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough in two and form two 12x2 inch logs on the parchment lined cookie sheet. If the dough is sticky, wet your hands to make it easier to shape the dough. Bake the logs for 35 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes.

Change the oven temperature to 275°F. Slice each log into 18 slices. Place the slices back on the cookie sheet on their sides. Bake 8-10 minutes until dry. Let cool on the sheets for 10 minutes then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 36 cookies.