Homemade Gift Idea: Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Whip up a batch of Homemade Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti this holiday season. It’s a delicious treat for gifting to family and friends.

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Artwork by Eric Zelz

For years, I have been making a variety of Christmas treats to gift to our near and dear friends and family (check out a favorite Christmas cookie here). And one of my very favorites to gift is biscotti. These little cookies are perfect served with a piping hot cup of coffee.

This is the kind of food gift you give when to the friend you love lingering over conversation with — because it’s perfect for that.

Making biscotti is a process. You start with the dough. This isn’t as simple as tossing ingredients together though. It needs to be kneaded together with care — this will take a few minutes, and you must be patient. Keep working with it until it forms a cohesive ball. Then you roll it into a log and pat it down.

Next comes the first bake (yes, biscotti has to bake twice). The first time you bake it, it cooks the ingredients so they meld together into a loaf. But it doesn’t become biscotti until you slice it into strips and re-bake it. Then it crisps into that delightful cookie that’s perfect to serve with coffee (be sure to dip it!).

Biscotti

Dotted with chocolate chips and bits of green pistachios, it’s a treat. Package some biscotti in festive bags or boxes to give this holiday season.

Sure, it’s more involved than your favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe or that tasty scones recipe. But it’s also more special because of it. That’s worth it.

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Artwork by Eric Zelz

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 24 pieces
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
  • ½ cup pistachio meats, chopped
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pistachios.
  3. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry mixture and stir until combined. The mixture will be crumbly but should be moistened.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead well for 2-3 minutes, until the dough comes together in a cohesive ball. Shape the dough into a 12-inch log and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Flatten the dough to 1-inch-thick.
  5. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.
  6. Reduce the oven to 325 degrees.
  7. Slice the biscotti into ½-inch thick pieces on the diagonal. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes per side, flipping once. Transfer the biscotti pieces to a cooling rack and cool completely.
  8. Store in an airtight container and enjoy within a week.

 

How does the Maine Course art get made?

Hint: turn down the volume on this video — there’s a lot of ambient noise.

Sarah Walker Caron

About Sarah Walker Caron

Sarah Walker Caron is editor of Bangor Metro magazine and senior features editor for the Bangor Daily News. She is the author of "The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook," (Sept. 2018, Rockridge Press) and the co-author of "Grains as Mains: Modern Recipes Using Ancient Grains" (March 2015, DK). Her recipes have appeared in the BDN, Betty Crocker publications, Glamour.com and more. She also writes about food at www.sarahscucinabella.com.