Christmas Gift Idea: Biscotti - three kinds.

It's almost that time of the year!

I have three biscotti recipes to share and they do make wonderful gifts. Shipping them overseas is not a problem at all because biscotti last for weeks! I don't know about you but I like to give things that are made instead of bought - at least, for me, I appreciate gifts like that a bit more because of the personal touches put into it.



So, back to the biscotti recipes, I have three that I'd like to share;

1) Pistachio and cranberry biscotti,

2) Orange-flavored Chocolate chip and hazelnut biscotti and

3) Japanese Green Tea and chocolate chip biscotti.

All three are delicious and goes extremely well with coffee and tea.

1) Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti

This is a very cheerful and colorful biscotti, perfect for the Christmas season, it also has the holiday colors with the green pistachios and red cranberries studded in every golden bite. Imagine receiving a package of these colorful biscotti at your door steps - it would warm even the coldest days. :)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, unsalted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
Rind of 1 lemon
1 vanilla bean, scraped and pods discarded - or use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup of pistachio
1 cup of dried cranberries

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. Spray baking sheet with some oil/coat with butter. Sift, the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

1. Cream butter with sugar until it turns into a pale creamy consistency. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.

If you have a stand mixer or a hand mixer this would be a breeze but to be quite honest, it is very doable by hand too.

2. I like adding my flavoring in the butter mixture, I feel that it's better incorporated that way. So, add your vanilla and lemon rind in here and stir to perfume the butter mixture.

3. Now it's time to add the dry ingredients; I like to add the flour mixture and the pistachio and cranberries alternately into the butter mixture so it gets incorporated well.

At the end, your batter will have a chocolate chip cookie batter consistency. If it's too sticky, chill the batter in the fridge before baking for 30 minutes.

4. With your spatula, half the batter and shape it into logs on your baking sheet. Flatten it until it's about 1 inch thick and approximately 9-inches in length. You will have two logs from this one batch of batter.

5. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven. After that, cool the batter for 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Slice the biscotti logs into approximately 3/4 inch thick cookies and bake for 15 minutes minutes in the same oven temperature.

Let the biscotti cool completely before storing.

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It's simple, isn't it? :)

Next biscotti recipe!

2) Orange-flavored Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti

This is a very traditional take on flavor. Orange and chocolate? Can't go wrong with that :)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, unsalted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
Rind of 1 large orange, grated
1 vanilla bean, scraped and pods discarded - or use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
1+3/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup of hazelnuts, whole

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. Spray baking sheet with some oil/coat with butter. Sift, the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

1. Cream butter with sugar until it turns into a pale creamy consistency. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.

2. I like adding my flavoring in the butter mixture, I feel that it's better incorporated that way. So, add your vanilla and orange rind in here and stir to perfume the butter mixture.

3. Now it's time to add the dry ingredients; I like to add the flour mixture and the hazelnuts alternately into the butter mixture so it gets incorporated well.

4. With your spatula, half the batter and shape it into logs on your baking sheet. Flatten it until it's about 1 inch thick and approximately 9-inches in length. You will have two logs from this one batch of batter.

5. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven. After that, cool the batter for 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Slice the biscotti logs into approximately 3/4 inch thick cookies and bake for 15 minutes minutes in the same oven temperature.

Let the biscotti cool completely before storing.

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3)Japanese Green Tea and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

This is a very unique flavored biscotti. The flavor of the green tea powder gives it a very pleasant bitterness, almost like dark chocolate with a hint of floral tea leaves that green tea imparts. And with chocolate chips, it's quite delicious with a glass of cold milk! Here's to all the green anti-oxidant goodness in a bite! :)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, unsalted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, scraped and pods discarded - or use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
1+3/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of green tea powder, also known as Matcha
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup of chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. Spray baking sheet with some oil/coat with butter. Sift, the flour, matcha powder, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

1. Cream butter with sugar until it turns into a pale creamy consistency. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.

2. I like adding my flavoring in the butter mixture, I feel that it's better incorporated that way. So, add your vanilla beans/extract in here and stir to perfume the butter mixture.

3. Now it's time to add the dry ingredients; I like to add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips alternately into the butter mixture so it gets incorporated well.

4. With your spatula, half the batter and shape it into logs on your baking sheet. Flatten it until it's about 1 inch thick and approximately 9-inches in length. You will have two logs from this one batch of batter.

5. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven. After that, cool the batter for 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Slice the biscotti logs into approximately 3/4 inch thick cookies and bake for 15 minutes minutes in the same oven temperature.

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Let the biscotti cool completely before storing.