make this biscotti today: chocolate pistachio biscotti

I have never made biscotti before. This was the first time, and it was awesomely delicious. Everyone always gripes about how complicated Martha Stewart's recipes are but this was not too bad at all, the only trouble I had was slicing up the biscotti before their second spin in the oven, and to be honest, I fear the knife I used was not quite sharp enough. You could easily substitute other nuts for the pistachios but really, they taste so excellent with the chocolate and they're such a pretty green color I can't see why you would. I toasted the nuts beforehand because always do, but doing so is not required by the recipe. Here, I make two "loaves" so that the biscotti fit easily into a lunch bag, but feel free to make one large one if you'd prefer the more traditional shape.

chocolate pistachio biscotti
adapted from martha stewart's cookies.

2 cups ap flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons salted butter (I omitted the salt since I only had this on hand), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (could use semisweet, I had bitter on hand)

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet.

In a small bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt if you are using unsalted butter. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the flour mixture, in two parts. The dough will be very stiff. Stir or fold in the pistachios and chocolate chips by hand, until just combined.

Split the dough into two logs, place them onto the prepared baking sheet and shape into flattened logs, roughly eight by three inches in measurement. Bake for 25-35 minutes until slightly firm. Remove from the oven, drop the temperature to 300, and set the biscotti to cool for 5-10 minutes. Patience will be rewarded so give them plenty of time to firm up before slicing. Then use a sharp, serrated knife and cut on the diagonal to make one inch thick slices. Bake (or "dry out"), cut side down, until crisp but a bit soft toward the center. Martha Stewart said about eight minutes, it took me closer to twenty. Use your eyes. Cool completely before eating.

success: pistachio shortbread

If you life with me--and at least a few of you do--you might have noticed my obsession with pistachios this week. It started mostly out of forgetfulness, as in, I forgot how much I liked pistachios and then I ate some and promptly remembered. Pistachios are delicious, work really well in many desserts (they complement cherries, and chocolate, although the three together are kind of gross).

I had a lot of fun making shortbread last week, and decided to play around with the proportions and the flavors. These cookies are super decadent and tasty, although I wouldn't make them if you're not fond of pistachios, since they're loaded with that flavor. If I ever invest in an ice cream maker, I think an extra rich chocolate ice cream would be amazing with either some of these crumbled into it, or frozen chunks of the (conveniently eggless) dough mixed into it. For a gift, each heart (or square, flower, or star) could be dipped into dark chocolate. The done cookies are nice, pale pistachio green. You could dye them a deeper green, but I'd respect you less.

If I made these again, I would consider toasting the nuts first. Does anyone have any experience with toasting pistachios?

pistachio shortbread

12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar or confectioner's sugar (I pulsed the regular sugar with the vanilla in my magic bullet)
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1/2 cup raw, unsalted pistachios, divided
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 325. Beat the butter until nice and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and vanilla thoroughly; you definitely want "light and fluffy". Pulse 1/4 cup of the pistachios in a magic bullet, blender or food processor until it's a nice, even, fine consistency, something like bread crumbs. Add the pistachio meal and almond extract to the butter and sugar and beat until uniform. Add the flour, one quarter cup at a time, until the dough almost forms a ball. Chop the last 1/4 cup of pistachios roughly and stir into the dough. Press into a square or similar shape of uniform thickness, I went for less than 1/2 inch. Pierce the dough throughout with a fork to prevent bubbling. Bake for twenty to thirty minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Cut with a knife or cookie cutters while the shortbread is still warm. Cool before storing.

For me, this recipe yielded 12 2-inch-ish hearts and a ton of "trimmings".