Biscotti

Good Morning peeps, today is the 4th of May, a beautiful relaxing Sunday Morning. After being inspired by seeing Paul Hollywood's "get your bake on" stage show (which I attended on Tuesday at the Playhouse in Edinburgh)I had decided to try my hand making some Biscotti biscuits. These are Italian treats which date to the 13 century go great with a cup of coffee. They are very crisp and dry, hence the name Biscotti which means "Twice cooked" The traditional Italian way to take them are dipped into Vin Santo or a sweet wine. I prefer with coffee at this time in the morning :-) The ones I choose to made are Pistachio and Cranberry.

Ingredients For the biscotti base 250g plain white flour ½ tsp baking powder 250g caster sugar 2-3 medium eggs, beaten 220g shelled pistachio nuts 125g dried cranberries Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (I use a parmesan cheese grater I bought at morrisons for £2) Heat your oven to 140°C (or 160°C for a non-fan oven, which is a better option for this recipe if available). Line a baking tray with baking parchment Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Continue until you have a firm dough; it may not be necessary to add all of the egg. The dough shouldn’t be at all sticky.(although on my first attempt the dough was very sticky but all still turned out ok in the end so don't worry too much) roughly chop the pistachio nuts and dried cranberries and add them to the biscotti dough with the lemon zest. Mix the flavouring ingredients in with your hands until they are evenly incorporated. Once you have added your nuts and cranberries, turn the biscotti dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently, then divide in half. Roll each piece of dough into a long log, about 4cm in diameter. Place both logs on your lined baking tray, spacing them at least 5cm apart as the mixture will spread a bit. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Leave the logs to cool on the tray for 10 minutes to allow the dough to firm up slightly, then transfer to a board. Cut the logs, on the diagonal, into 2-3cm thick slices. Place the slices, cut side up, on the baking tray. Return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the biscotti are dry through to the centre, turning them over halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. These biscotti keep well in an airtight container.