July 7, 2020
We are currently in the midst of summer heat here in Ohio. The temperatures have hovered above the nineties over the last couple of weeks. Kevin and I spent the Fourth of July weekend enjoying warm weather and sunshine outdoors. Neither of us realized how much we needed some time to recuperate until the long weekend actually rolled around. Even though we were working from home, the work never did slow down. When the long weekend finally arrived, we were both elated to be able to get an extra day to relax. Kevin jumped at the opportunity to catch up on gaming with his friends. I took advantage of the extra free time to head out to nature to enjoy some sunshine and catch up on my podcasts. I quickly packed a yoga mat, a refreshing drink, and headed into nature. I have been looking forward to just spending time drowning out the noise around me and catching up on the latest podcasts on iHeartRadio. Over the last few days, I’ve been alternating between listening to food podcasts and finance podcasts. My latest addiction has been Freelance to Founder hosted by Preston and Clay. Each episode features a guest who had turned his or her hobby into a business. I loved hearing the different stories and lessons from people who were able to turn their passions into business opportunities. I listened to episode upon episode. Before I knew it, I began to feel hungry again. My hunger usually means it’s time to retreat back inside to start making some food. When I opened the fridge door, I immediately spot some leftover pistachio biscotti I had made earlier last week. I grabbed a piece of biscotti, prepared some tea, and savored the perfectly portioned biscotti. My pistachio biscotti was the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea. I like to make biscotti when I want a slightly sweet treat to enjoy with a hot beverage in the afternoon. I never thought about making my own biscotti from scratch until a couple years ago when I had the most amazing homemade biscotti from a colleague. She had made a large batch of her homemade biscotti to give away as gifts during the holidays. I remember being super excited to try her homemade version. The moment I took a bite, I absolutely loved the combination of crunchy cookie, dried fruits, and nuts. I immediately made notes of the textures and flavors of her version of biscotti and started experimenting with making my own version once I got home. My experiments led me to create a version of black and white biscotti, loosely inspired by the black and white cookies I was obsessed with eating back in Brooklyn. Black and white cookies are quintessential (and iconic) New York treats. Each bakery in New York has its own version of black and white cookies. I wanted to put my own spin on the iconic treat by applying it to biscotti and ended up creating the most marvelous black and white biscotti. My black and white biscotti is still my favorite way to enjoy biscotti, but this time around, I wanted to create a new version. I ended up making a version of biscotti featuring pistachios dipped in white chocolate. My pistachio biscotti marries the texture I love in a soft cookie with the texture of a traditional crunchy biscotti. I was glad I saved some pistachio biscotti from last week. The pistachio biscotti gave me the boost I needed to help me stay energized for the rest of the afternoon until dinnertime.
For the pistachio biscotti:
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· 2 large eggs, room temperature
· Zest of a small lemon
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· ½ teaspoon almond extract
· 2 ounces pistachios, shells removed
· 4 ounces white chocolate, melted (optional)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3) In another bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and combine after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest and extracts. Gently fold in the flour mixture and pistachios. Mix all of the ingredients together until a dough is formed. Use your hands to shape the dough into one slightly flat oval.
4) Bake the dough in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes.
5) Use a serrated knife to slice the large oval cookie into about ½ inch pieces. Lay the sliced biscotti pieces on their sides on the parchment lined baking sheet.
6) Place the baking sheet with the biscotti pieces back into the oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the biscotti from the oven. Flip each piece of biscotti over to the other side. Return the baking sheet with the biscotti pieces back into the oven again and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the biscotti from the oven and let the biscotti cool for an hour. As an optional step, melt 4 ounces of white chocolate in a microwave in 30-second intervals. Dip the biscotti into the white chocolate and let the chocolate harden before serving.
Takeaways: The biscotti dough yields larger pieces of biscotti. For smaller pieces of biscotti, divide the dough in half, round the halves into two smaller ovals, and follow the steps above to make biscotti. Feel free to swap in any nuts or fruits of your choice for your own personalized version of biscotti. For another spin on biscotti, check out my black and white version.