Over the weekend I baked for the very first time! I decided to make pistachio biscotti. It sounds fancy, but if you have experience baking before it is very doable. The recipe I used is from My Indian Kitchen by Hari Nayak. I have tried his recipe before (here), and just like before this recipe was also simple and easy to follow with good results.
Since this was my first baking experience I found it difficult to work with the sticky dough, in hindsight I should have used the mixer, instead of 'folding' the dough myself. I think it will take a few more sessions before I become comfortable with baking.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Makes 26 biscotti
Ingredients:
*1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup unsalted pistachios
2 tsp grated orange zest
*3 eggs beaten
Method:
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, pistachios, and orange zest. Make a well in the center, then add eggs and fold them into the mixture to make a sticky dough.
Divide the dough into two equal sections on a clear floured surface. Using your hands roll each section into a log approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. Place each log onto an oiled baking tray (cooking sheet would work better, but I didn't have any), leaving space between for spreading.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the logs from the oven and allow it cool. Decrease the oven temperature to 275 degrees.
Once the cookie logs have cooled down, using a knife cut the logs into slices. Place the cut-side down and return them to the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly brown on the sides--turn them once for equal baking.
Note
* The original recipe calls for 1 cup of flour and two eggs. However, in my case the 2 eggs were not sufficient for the mixture to turn into dough therefore I added one more egg and some extra dough as needed.