Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

It's the time of year when I absolutely love baking cookies.  It's so fun to experiment with new ideas, and I always try a few new cookie recipes at Christmas time, but this is one of those tried and true recipes that I keep going back to.


I grew up with a mom who was (is) the Cookie Queen - every holiday or special occasion always called for a batch of freshly baked cookies.  She taught me to find joy in baking cookies, being creative with them, and sharing them with loved ones.  So it goes without saying that I've baked, tasted, and shared a lot of cookies in my day.  


I received a copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies as a wedding gift a year and a half ago, and as soon as I started flipping through it I knew it was a keeper.  My mom quickly caught on to this gem of a cookbook and bought her own copy.  Since then, during the holidays she and I seem to have an unspoken goal to try as many of the recipes in the book as possible!  Weekend mornings usually include text messages between the two of us; sometimes as short as "Page 172 White Chocolate Chunk Cookies" and we'll know what the other is baking in preparation for houseguests, client gifts, dinner parties, or the dreaded cookie exchange :-)


Biscotti seemed quite intimidating the first time I tried it; but I quickly realized that it's not any harder than baking regular drop cookies, it just requires more time and some careful knife skills.  I first made this recipe for a bridal shower that I co-hosted with my mom, and since then I've made it several times for holiday gifts.  It's perfect to pack up in a tin or box.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart's Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixture until creamy.  Add eggs, beat on low until well combined.  Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture until well combined.  Beat in the pistachios and chocolate chips until just combined.


Transfer dough to a prepared baking sheet and form in a log (about 12 x 4 inches).

Bake for about 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool about 10 minutes.  Reduce the oven to 300 degrees.  

Use a sharp, serrated knife and cut biscotti diagonally into 1 inch thick slices.  Arrange cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for about 10 more minutes (you want them to be crisp on the outside and somewhat soft on the inside).  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!