Source: William Sonoma
Makes 24 servings.
Preparation time: 2 hours
Tips: Ana Maria's first choice biscotti.
Ingredients
Preparation
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick= 1/2 cup), room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Triple Sec or other Orange flavor liquor
2 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups shelled pistachio nuts
4 ounces Bittersweet chocolate, optional to dip
powder sugar, to dust
1. Heat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat sugar and butter in medium mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir in liquor, vanilla extract and the orange zest. Add flour mixture; stir until smooth. Stir in pistachio nuts. Dough will be soft and stick. IMPORTANT: Refrigerate dough covered 1 hour or overnight to firm and blend flavors.
3. Heat oven to 375 F degrees. Grease 1 large baking sheet. Divide dough in half. Place half the dough in a long piece of plastic wrap, if dough appears too sticky, dust plastic with flour. With the aid of the plastic roll dough to form a 12x2-inch log. Built the log tall and narrow, sides straight up, it will flatten as it bakes. Dough will be fairly soft. Place log on one side of baking sheet, remove plastic. Pat surface smooth with lightly floured fingertips. Repeat with remaining half of dough to form second log. Dust logs with powdered sugar. Bake until logs are light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (Do not turn oven off.) Cool logs completely on baking sheet on wire rack.
4. Reduce oven setting to 350 F degrees. Cut logs diagonally with serrated knife into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place slices flat in single layer on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 minutes. Turn slices over; bake until cut surfaces are light brown and cookies are dry, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Remove cookies from baking sheets to wire racks; cool completely. Cookies will keep for several weeks in tightly covered container.
OPTIONAL: coat one side of cookies with melted chocolate.
5. To melt chocolate for dipping:
-Place small, less than 1-inch pieces of chocolate in a bowl.
If you have a baking oven with a light, with oven OFF place the bowl with the chocolate inside the oven, turn oven light ON . The heat from the light will melt a pound of chocolate in about 2-3 hours or leave overnight.
OR
Place bowl over a double boiler keeping the water just warm to slowly melt the chocolate. Overheated chocolate will develop white spots when it hardens. This won't affect the flavor, just the looks.
Dip cooled cookie, flat bottom side edge into the melted chocolate. Place cookie on Teflon sheet, wax paper or aluminum paper to set. Chocolate will take several hours to set at room temperature.
6. When the cookies have cooled completely, dip flat edge of each cookie about 1/2" deep into melted dark coating chocolate and place on top of Teflon sheets or wax paper or aluminum foil to cool and set. Chocolate takes few hours to set dry. Store in airtight containers such a glass jars, they last for several weeks.
NOTES : Makes about 24 cookies.
Biscotti Pistachio-Orange
Not to hard, Not to Crumbly
