It's time for biscotti at Christmas time

Nigella's Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

To my way of thinking, this biscotti spells Christmas, with the lovely red cranberries and pistachio nuts specifying a festive event. A lot of ingredients are interchangeable in biscotti, eg pistachio nuts can be substituted with almonds as can the dried fruits, but this is a spectacular combination. The orange zest freshens up the whole biscuit. 

Traditionally, biscotti is meant to be dipped when eating in a sweet dessert wine, however Nigella Lawson in Nigelissima suggests a ruby port. Whatever takes your fancy really I think, even a cup of tea will do, these biscuits are just meant to be savoured over and dipped.

Makes 15, excluding the end pieces. I know I will need to bake another batch. 

Ingredients

1 EGG

75G CASTOR SUGAR

2 TEASPOONS FINELY GRATED ORANGE ZEST

125G PLAIN FLOUR, PLUS MORE FOR ROLLING

1/2 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER

FRESH NUTMEG (it should be grated off a whole nutmeg for best flavour)

75G PISTACHIO NUTS

50G DRIED CRANBERRIES

Let's cook:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. /gas Mark 4.

Beat or whisk the egg and sugar until pale and moussy. Beat in the orange zest, then slowly fold in the flour mixed with the baking powder and a good grating of fresh nutmeg.

Fold in the whole pistachios and dried cranberries. Flour your kitchen bench well, and also your hands, as it is a sticky mixture. Now form the dough into a flattish, oval ciabatta-like loaf, approx. 25x5cm, and taper the ends slightly.

Lay the biscotti dough loaf carefully onto a piece of baking parchment on a baking tray and cook for 25-30 minutes, it should be a pale, brown colour. (I use a long and wide icing spatula knife to do this.) Rotate the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time, as the base can brown quickly.

Transfer the cooked loaf to a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes to harden slightly, then using a fine serrated-edged knife, slice the baked loaf diagonally into fingers about 1 cm thick.

These look bigger in the photo than they actually are.

Place the slices back onto the baking parchment covered tray and cook again for another 10 minutes, and then turn the biscotti over and cook for yet another 5 minutes.

Allow the golden-brown biscotti to cool on a rack and then store them in an airtight container. They will keep for a few weeks, as long as they are well hidden.

So, my friends, how are your Christmas preparations progressing? We are travelling away for Christmas so I need to have my baking finished well in advance. I would love to hear from you about your Christmas baking plans. I know many more people are reading my blog than comment, so it would be nice to hear from you. Comments box at the bottom of this blog.

Best wishes

Pauline xx