Orange, Apricot, & Pistachio Biscotti

Now isn’t *that* a match made in heaven?!

I feel bad because it’s been challenging getting new posts up as regularly as I normally would.  I could blame it on travel schedules, the new job, and the continual process of settling into the new house.  And all of that is 100% true.  But you know the real reason??  I’ve just had trouble finding recipes that taste as good as they should when I make them.  It’s not that I haven’t been baking and cooking, but rather that the recipes I’ve tried in the last month have all been fairly underwhelming—and not something I want to share with you.

Until this, that is.

I don’t know why I’ve been slightly obsessed with the idea of biscotti lately.  It’s off-season, to be honest…more of a fall and winter food in my mind.  But for some strange reason every time I see a new biscotti flavor combo, I’m smitten.  So I finally decided to try a new one out.  There was an orange, apricot, and almond recipe I’d been wanting to try, but I swapped in pistachios (and toasted them for more flavor) since that’s what I had on hand.

I was pretty skeptical about the recipe not having any fats, or any liquid except the egg and orange juice.  But the more I thought about it, it made sense…a fat would make it more moist and soft, and that’s the opposite of a good biscotti.  The orange zest and juice bring a brightness here, while the apricots bring the sweet.  I’m glad it’s only lightly sweet, since that lets the fruit flavors really linger on your tongue.  This one’s a winner for sure.

Heat oven to 320 (160C) and line a cookie tray with parchment paper or silicone.  Roughly chop the pistachios and toast for a few minutes on low or medium heat.  Watch them carefully so they don’t burn!  Chop up the apricots and zest your orange as well.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and sugar.  Then stir in the pistachios and apricots.

Lightly beat the eggs and then add to the mixture, along with the orange juice and zest.  Mix until combined—it will be super wet and that’s okay.

On a very well-floured surface, roll (or smoosh) the mixture into a log about 3.5 inches wide and long enough to fit on you cookie tray (make sure you leave about 2 inches at each end since the log will expand in the oven).  Since the dough likely super wet, you can be very liberal with the flour here and keep your hands well-floured as you work with it.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (or it may even be a few minutes longer than that, depending on how wet your dough is), until it is JUST done but a slight golden crust has formed.  You definitely don’t want to overbake it at this stage.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray completely.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 (150C).  Transfer the cooled log to a cutting board and using a serrated bread knife, cut the log into diagonal pieces about 1/2-inch thick.

Place the biscuits back on the baking tray, one of the cut sides down, and continue to bake for around 10 minutes on each side.  They should be lightly golden and crispy, not soft or soggy in the middle.  They might need another 10 minutes or so past that—mine did.

Remove from oven and cool on the tray for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

These will store for at least few days in an airtight container or large Ziploc.  Make sure they are totally cool and dried out when you put them in the container, or they’ll hold that moisture in and get soggy and gross.

Don’t you love a recipe that’s *meant* to be overbaked?? 🙂

Orange, Apricot, & Pistacho Biscotti

Remember, moisture is your enemy on this…a longer, lower bake will be your best friend in drying out the biscotti so it gets nice and hard

• 1 1/4 cup plain flour (you’ll probably need at least another 1/4 or 1/2 cup as well)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup of pistachios, roughly chopped
• ½ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
• The juice and zest of half an orange

1. Heat oven to 320 (160C) and line a cookie tray with parchment paper or silicone.
2. Roughly chop the pistachios and toast for a few minutes on low or medium heat.  Watch them carefully so they don’t burn!  Chop up the apricots and zest your orange as well.
3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and sugar.  Then stir in the pistachios and apricots.
4. Lightly beat the eggs and then add to the mixture, along with the orange juice and zest.  Mix until combined—it will be super wet and that’s okay.
5. On a very well-floured surface, roll (or smoosh) the mixture into a log about 3.5 inches wide and long enough to fit on you cookie tray (make sure you leave about 2 inches at each end since the log will expand in the oven).  Since the dough likely super wet, you can be very liberal with the flour here and keep your hands well-floured as you work with it.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes (or it may even be a few minutes longer than that, depending on how wet your dough is), until it is JUST done but a slight golden crust has formed.  You definitely don’t want to overbake it at this stage.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray completely.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 (150C).  Transfer the cooled log to a cutting board and using a serrated bread knife, cut the log into diagonal pieces about 1/2-inch thick.
8. Place the biscuits back on the baking tray, one of the cut sides down, and continue to bake for around 10 minutes on each side.  They should be lightly golden and crispy, not soft or soggy in the middle.  They might need another 10 minutes or so past that—mine did.
9. Remove from oven and cool on the tray for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.  Once they’re totally cool and dried out, you can store in a Ziploc or airtight container.

Adapted from this recipe on Almond to Zest