Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

I've made biscotti before, but this is one recipe that I've had on my to do list since discovering the awesomeness that is the pistachio. Fun to say, fun to look at, pistachios have quickly become my favourite nut.


These particular biscotti take the form of orange and vanilla scented crisps full of tangy dried cranberries and lurid green pistachios. The buttery crunch of the nuts and the chewyness of the dried fruit creates an interesting texture. I often dip my biscotti in melted chocolate, but I chose not to add any embellishment to these ones. Even unadorned they are by no means "plain." The flavur of citrus has a great supporting role while the cranberries and pistachios take the starring roles. Adding anything else would turn this duo into some tangled love triangle and ...... Never mind, just go bake some biscotti, brew some tea or coffee and watch some classic movies. It's better that way.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Makes 2 dozen biscotti

Dairy

· 1 cup shelled pistachios, preferably unsalted

· 2 cups all-purpose flour

· 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

· ½ teaspoon salt

· ½ cup butter, room temperature

· 1 cup granulated sugar

· 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

· 2 eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. Place nuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet: set aside to cool. Leave oven on. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Ina small bowl, whisk flour with baking powder and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar and orange peel on high speed until light coloured. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides if necessary. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture. Stir in cooled nuts and dried cranberries. Dough will be soft.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Spacing apart, place pieces of dough on baking sheet. Form each into a log measuring abut 9x 2-1/2 inches, leaving at least 2 inches between the logs. Bake in oven 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Leave oven on. Transfer each baked log to cutting board. Cut into ½ inch slices. Stand biscotti upright on baking sheet. Return to oven; bake 20 more minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Adapted from LCBO Food and Drink Magazine

Raspberry Pistachio Teacakes

I like the name teacakes...it makes me think of something more restrained and elegant than a cupcake and yet more delicate and stately than a muffin. It is a cake and yet it can be eaten in the afternoon for tea, or even on the run if need be.
These teacakes, from Martha Stewart, cupcakes are made of ground pistachios in a tender cake batter that has fresh or frozen raspberries pressed into the batter before being sprinkled with more chopped pistachios. They bake into sweet little cakes with bits of raspberry peeking out from underneath the chopped pistachios. While still warm, the raspberries taste like a gooey jam filling and the cake is crumbly with bits of pistachio.

These are sweet nutty, salty, velvety cakes bursting with warm raspberry goodness. The batter takes minutes to make and makes a minimal mess because its all done in the food processor.

These also look so dainty and simple that they would fit right in at any afternoon tea party. They can be made as mini or regular sized cakes and look absolutely beautiful on a fancy tiered or glass serving plate.

Pistachio Raspberry Teacakes

Makes 12-15 standard muffins or about 36 mini

• 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 containers fresh raspberries (I used frozen, the cakes took longer to cook)
• ¼ cup slivered pistachios, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. In a food processor, finely grind shelled pistachios with the sugar and salt. Add butter, vanilla and eggs; process until smooth. Add flour; pulse until just moistened and combined (do no overmix).
2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each ¾ s full. Drop raspberries into batter (4-6 per standard teacake; 2 per mini) and sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, about 28 minutes for standard cakes or 15 for minis. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or room temperature. Cakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature in airtight container.

Adapted from:

Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes