Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

First of all, I want to thank my friend Stacey for sharing this recipe with me several years ago. Her mother was visiting and had made dozens of Christmas cookies so Stacey very nicely brought some to the office to share. I had never had biscotti before and am actually surprised I tried it. A picky eater, I am not good about trying new things. But in this case, I am glad I did! Because the cranberries are red and pistachios green, this is a good cookie for Christmas. So, since I have now shared this recipe with a couple of family members, and I know at least one has made them, I decided to add it to my family recipes on this blog. I can’t take credit for it though. I didn’t have the recipe Stacey’s mom used but googled it and found one on the internet that was just as good. My version of Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti is below. You can find the original version by Gerry Meyer on the allrecipes.com website.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup light olive oil
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract (Gerry used 2 teaspoons vanilla and ½ teaspoon almond extract)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1 ½ cups shelled pistachio nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 300° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the olive oil and sugar together until well blended. Stir in vanilla, then the beaten eggs. You can use a wooden spoon to do both steps, no mixer required.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually combine with the above mixture. Fold in pistachios and cranberries using a wooden spoon or your hands if necessary. It will be thick.

Wet your hands with cool water (it will be sticky) and divide the dough in half. Form each half into 12x2-inch logs and place side by side on a cookie sheet. 

Bake 35 minutes in a preheated oven (until light brown). Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275°. Cut the logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick slices. 

Lay the cookies cut side down on a second cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake 10 minutes until dry. 

Cool and store in a sealed container.

I made a gluten free version this past Fall for my brother-in-law and it turned out great. Just substitute the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten free flour and add a little extra olive oil—just a couple of sprinkles. My brother-in-law and sister liked it so much, she is now making it herself. Since she doesn’t like to cook, that says something!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas to all!