Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
This crunchy biscuit is a perfect addition to a cookie platter, or with your morning coffee. Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti bursts with flavor and festive colors and is drizzled with an orange glaze to finish!
My mom and I recently were both dying to make biscotti post-Thanksgiving, so of course we focused on Christmasy colors and flavors – pistachio and cranberry!
The following day we had planned to decorate our Christmas tree, so we wanted a tray of festive cookies to serve with our tree trimming “party”.
This recipe is pretty basic — made all with staples you should already have on hand.
We decided to add some white cornmeal for a little extra bite. I personally liked the addition of cornmeal for crispiness, but you can also sub this out for more flour.
I also loved the punch of orange zest in both the biscuit, but mostly in the glaze! It complemented the pistachio and cranberries perfectly and added lovely subtle orange hue for presentation.
How to Make It
Start by mixing all the ingredients together — butter, sugar, orange zest (set aside 1 tsp for glaze), salt, almond extract, eggs, baking powder, flour, and cornmeal. Don’t mix all the flour in completely, or the dough might become tough.
Add in the chopped pistachios and cranberries, and stir together until just mixed evenly.
On a parchment-lined baking sheet, pat the dough into a long rectangle. The dough will be sticky, but do not add extra flour!
Biscotti shaping
The shape and size of your rectangle depend entirely on your size preference of biscotti. My rectangle was about 14″ long and 5″ wide when I shaped it.
Once baked, it spread slightly in the oven so that the overall width was 6″ in the middle. If you like shorter biscotti pieces, simply aim for 3-4″ in width to account for spreading. Your length will be slightly longer (but you’ll get more pieces!).
Bake #1 and #2
Bake your rectangle at 350° for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm on top and edges.
Let the biscotti rectangle cool for about 30 minutes before you cut it into 3/4″ slices. The dough should feel dry enough to cut, but might also crumble slightly on the browner parts. If for some reason it seems too wet to cut, bake it 5-10 minutes longer before you slice it. If you follow this instruction, your second bake time will most likely be reduced, depending always on your own preference!
Delicately move sliced biscotti to the same parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 325° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and dry.
This depends again on your preference for crunchy/slightly softer biscotti. I prefer a crunch on the ends and a softer middle, so I baked mine for less time overall — 30 minutes the first bake, and 25 minutes for the second bake.
Cool & Drizzle with Orange Glaze
While the biscotti cools, mix together your glaze using the remaining 1 tsp of orange zest, powdered sugar, and a little water. I always roughly whisk together the first two ingredients and start adding a small amount of water, a little at a time, until I reach a runny but thick consistency.
When you lift the whisk, a steady stream should run off the whisk. If it runs off too quickly, the glaze will run off the biscotti and not set firm. Too thick and it will be harder to evenly drizzle over the biscotti. Just make sure to whisk thoroughly in between adding water — a little bit goes a long way, but you can always add more powdered sugar if you overdo it!
In long strokes, drizzle the glaze back and forth over your biscotti in irregular lines. Let set until firm, 30-60 minutes before storing in an airtight container (or just enjoy right away!).
Modifications
- Sub out the cornmeal (if you don’t like that, or don’t have it) for equal parts of flour.
- Instead of drizzling your biscotti in my orange glaze, make a double batch of glaze and dip one end (or use white chocolate!).
- Swap the pistachios for almonds.
- Use vanilla extract instead of almond extract.
- Add dried cherries or blueberries instead of, or in addition to, the cranberries.
- Use lemon zest instead of orange zest.
Other flavor ideas!
- Cherry Almond Biscotti — swap out cranberries and pistachios for dried cherries and almonds.
- Triple Berry Biscotti — omit the nuts and add 1/3 cup each of chopped dried cherries and blueberries. Swap almond extract for vanilla extract.
- Pistachio Citrus Biscotti — omit the cranberries, add some more pistachios, and add in lemon zest as well.
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
Biscotti
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- zest of one orange, 1 tsp reserved for glaze
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup white cornmeal
- 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pistachios (if using unsalted nuts, add another pinch of salt)
- 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2-1 tsp water
- reserved orange zest, finely chopped if necessary
Instructions
Biscotti
- Preheat to 350°. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream together softened butter and sugar. Add in most of the orange zest (reserving 1 tsp for glaze), salt, and almond extract. Then beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Slowly beat in baking powder, flour, and cornmeal, mixing until almost combined (leave some flour unmixed to avoid a tough dough). Stir in pistachios and cranberries until evenly mixed.
- Lightly flour hands to shape the dough into a 14" by 4" rectangle*. Dough will be sticky, but do not add extra flour.
- Bake the rectangle for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm on top and edges. Cool for 30 minutes.
- After cooling, cut into 3/4" slices and place cut-side down on the same baking sheet**. Turn down oven to 325° and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and dry. (This depends on your preference for crunchy/slightly softer biscotti. I prefer a crunch on the ends and a softer middle, so I baked mine for less time overall.)
- Cool completely on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.
Glaze
- In a small bowl mix together powdered sugar and orange zest. Add 1/2 tsp of water and whisk vigorously until combined. Little by little, add in more water, whisking every time until you reach desired consistency. - When you lift the whisk, a steady stream should run off the whisk. If it runs off too quickly and too thinly, the glaze will run off the biscotti and not set firm. Too thick and it will be harder to evenly drizzle over the biscotti.
- In long strokes, drizzle the glaze back and forth over your biscotti in irregular lines. Let set until firm, 30-60 minutes. Sprinkle with more chopped pistachios if desired.
Notes
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Great recipe!