Christmas Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti are a delicious, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth treat with orange zest, dried cranberries, and nuts.
Delicious Biscotti is the Cookie you eat with coffee! It might seem fancy, but it’s actually pretty easy to master. Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti recipe is a great grab-and-go Breakfast during the busy holidays. Be sure to try our other holiday flavors like Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti and Gingerbread Dipped Biscotti too.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti Recipe
Biscotti are twice-baked Italian-style cookies. They have a distinct crumbly texture that’s perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee. Plus, their simple base is easy to add lots of flavors and mix-ins to, just like in this Christmas Pistachio Cranberry version.
This Biscotti recipe has quickly become a favorite for holiday brunches and other festive occasions. Adding dried cranberries and orange zest to the simple biscuit-like dough gives it the perfect seasonal flavor, and the red cranberries make them look more bright and cheery. Plus, the addition of pistachios gives that bit of extra crunch.
Ingredients
- Dough: The biscotti dough is made using a basic recipe of ½ cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of sugar, 3 eggs, 3 ¼ cup of flour, and 1 tablespoon of baking powder. When the ingredients are combined, the dough will have a slightly sticky consistency, so it is good to use a little more flour on your hands and work surface to make shaping it easier.
- Cranberries: It’s better to use dry fruit in biscotti than fresh to keep your dough from being too moist. The ½ cup of dried cranberries add the perfect flavor and sweetness, but they don’t add the excess liquid that fresh cranberries would.
- Orange Zest: Orange and cranberry flavors are a perfect match, especially if you want a festive Christmas flavor. Just mix 1 tablespoon orange zest into the dough to give it the perfect amount of bright citrus flavor.
- Pistachios: The ½ cup of pistachios add more festive flavor plus a bit of a fancier touch than other nuts. Make sure that you use chopped pistachios that are fairly small. If the nuts are too big, they can make the biscotti crack when your knife hits them.
How to Make
Time needed: 45 minutes.
- Prep Time
Turn the oven heat to 375 degrees. Then line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set them to the side while making the dough.
- Biscotti Dough
Whisk together the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Then add the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Whisk in the dry ingredients until just combined. Then stir in the pistachio nuts and the dried cranberries.
- Shape the Dough
Divide the mixture into two even pieces. Use floured hands to roll them into dough logs about the size of your baking trays. Place each log onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and continue rolling until they’re about ½ inch thick and 4 inches wide. You may have to shorten them slightly to get them the correct size.
- First Bake
Bake the Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti logs for 20-22 minutes in the preheated oven. Take them out when they’re light golden brown. Then let them cool slightly before using a pizza cutter or serrated knife to slice logs into 1/2-inch-thick-slices.
- Second Bake
Lay the slices cut side up. Then bake for 8-10 more minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Let the Christmas Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti cool on wire racks before serving them.
Can you make Biscotti ahead of time?
Yes! Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti is a fantastic make-ahead recipe because there are a couple of options to choose from.
- Baked: You can keep baked biscotti cookies in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 3 months, just make sure they are fully cooled before storing them.
- Half-Baked: After you bake the cookie log, slice it into pieces but don’t do the second bake. Freeze the half-baked slices on a baking tray for an hour then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Finish baking them straight from the freezer, adding a couple minutes bake time if needed or thaw in the fridge then bake the second time.
- Unbaked: The unbaked dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Simply prepare the dough and wrap it in plastic. Freeze it on a flat tray to keep it from losing its shape, then store it in a freezer bag. Bake from frozen or thaw in the fridge then bake as usual.
Nutritional Facts
Tips & Tricks for Making Biscotti
Watch the oven temperature
If you notice that all your cookie recipes are burning on the bottom, it could mean that the temperature of your oven is off. It’s possible that even when your oven says it’s at 375 degrees, it’s actually slightly hotter. This is likely the case if you notice that most of your recipes are cooking too quickly.
Use parchment paper
It’s also important to line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Using parchment-prepared baking sheets for biscotti creates a barrier between the hot pan and the bottom of the cookies to stop them from burning.
What to Pair With Biscotti
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti makes a great addition to your Christmas cookie baking. Their crumbly texture sets them apart from other go-to recipes like Gingerbread, Crinkle Cookies, and Sugar Cookies. They’re a great way to add variety to your cookie tray. Put them out at a holiday party, enjoy them with your breakfast on Christmas morning, or give them as a gift.
How to Store
Store: Let the Christmas Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti cool before you serve or store them. To keep them fresh, transfer cookies to an airtight container. They can stay good at room temperature for up to 1 month.
Freeze: To freeze the biscotti cookies, place them in a single layer on a sheet with parchment paper. Then lay them flat in the freezer for about an hour. Transfer the hardened biscotti to a freezer bag or another airtight container to store in the freezer for 3 months.
Frequent Questions
When you slice your biscotti, you want to give the dough logs a few minutes to cool. If you try to cut the biscotti too quickly, it might crumble. However, if you wait too long, it can crack. Just give them a few minutes, so they aren’t super hot, but slice while still warm.
Your flour to fat ratio may be incorrect, which makes your dough overly moist cookies that won’t get crispy. The biscotti dough should be sticky but not wet, so add more flour if necessary if it’s really soft and moist. It’s also good to cool them all the way before storing them to prevent the heat from causing steam in the container, which will make your cookie soft.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries , chopped
- 1/2 cup pistachios , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, eggs, and orange zest.
- Add in the flour and baking powder whisking until just combined.
- Stir in the cranberries and pistachios.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and roll into logs almost as long as your baking sheets.
- Place the dough on the baking sheets and roll to about ½ inch thick, about 4 inches across.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Using a pizza cutter, roll the slicer across the log in 1/2″ slices.
- Turn the cookies to show the cut side up and bake it an additional 8-10 minutes until the tops are slightly golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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Variations
Flavor Ingredients: Instead of orange zest, you can try different kinds of flavoring in your biscotti dough. Vanilla extract or almond extract would give the treat a more comforting flavor. Or, you could stick to the citrusy flavor with lemon zest.
Chocolate Dipped Biscotti: You can dip the Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti in melted chocolate before serving. Cranberries with white chocolate or dark chocolate is a popular choice, but you could also use semisweet or milk chocolate. Melt your choice of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Then dip cooled biscotti cookies in the chocolate with the cut-side down. Let any excess chocolate coating drip off the side. Then set them on parchment paper and let the biscotti chill until chocolate is hardened
Nuts: You can use a variety of different nuts instead of pistachios in this recipe. Chopped almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans would also taste amazing in this Christmas Biscotti recipe.
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