Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti: 1990s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

1990s Recipes + Menus

December 1992

Dried cranberries were still hard to find when we first ran this recipe, but thankfully they’re now a supermarket staple. The combination of chewy, sweet-sour bits and nuts within a very crunchy cookie makes this our favorite among the many biscotti recipes we have run.

This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

1 1/3 cups (about 1/4 pound) dried cranberries (available at specialty food stores and some supermarkets)
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shelled natural pistachio nuts
an egg wash made by beating together 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon water

In a bowl combine the cranberries with enough hot water to cover them and let them soak for 5 minutes. Drain the cranberries well and pat them dry with paper towels. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment blend the flour, the sugar, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt until the mixture is combined well, add the eggs and the vanilla, beating until a dough is formed, and stir in the cranberries and the pistachios.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it several times, and halve it. Working on a large buttered and floured baking sheet, with floured hands form each piece of dough into a flattish log 13 inches long and 2 inches wide, arrange the logs at least 3 inches apart on the sheet, and brush them with the egg wash. Bake the logs in the middle of a preheated 325° F. oven for 30 minutes and let them cool on the baking sheet on a rack for 10 minutes. On a cutting board, cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick slices, arrange the biscotti, cut sides down, on the baking sheet, and bake them in the 325° F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes on each side, or until they are pale golden. Transfer the biscotti to racks to cool and store them in airtight containers. Makes about 36 biscotti.

Photograph by Romulo Yanes