Lemon Pistachio Biscotti

The bitter tartness of the copious amount of lemon in this Lemon Pistachio Biscotti is balanced nicely with sugary sweetness and salted pistachios. To make it even better, they have been drizzled with sweet and lemony icing. Make a hot tea and savour every bite!

The combination of lemon and pistachios have been quite popular for some time particularly in desserts like cakes, where the nutty, earthy flavour of pistachios are perfectly complemented by the bright, zesty tang of lemon. But why should we limit the combination to cakes? This Lemon Pistachio Biscotti offers a crunchy contrast with the twice baked cookie and whole salted pistachios. It pairs so lovely with the sweet, sugary glaze.

I think the past few Christmases, I have prepared a pistachio-flavoured cookie or cake as a part of my holiday baking. We absolutely love pistachios and because of that beautiful green colour, they are quite festive too!

Sometimes, you just need to have something simple. There’s a time and a place for fancy desserts. And, most certainly, there’s a time and place for a homemade treat like this biscotti. If you’re much like me, the best time to enjoy a biscotti is on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

LET ME PAINT THE SCENE FOR YOU!

This is how I imagine it. John.e is out in the backyard, puttering around like he usually does. The cats are sleeping on the couch. And, the house is fully decorated for Christmas. It might be lightly snowing outside, but it’s so warm and cozy inside. We have an old fashioned radio in our kitchen that I like to use when I’m cooking and baking. But, right now, it’s tuned to a Christmas music station. I can hear Peggy Lee (love her!) singing about a Christmas Carousel. I’ve just made a fresh cup of coffee and I’m going to take a moment to sit down to take it all in.

From where I’m sitting, I can see two of our four Christmas trees. I don’t usually turn the Christmas lights on until later in the evening, but they’ve been on all day today. Between sips of my coffee and bites of my biscotti, I’m working feverishly on my latest cross stitch project in hopes that I can finish it before Christmas is over.

There – have I painted a picture worthy of how this Lemon Pistachio Biscotti should be eaten? I’m not sure about everyone else, but I love those stolen moments of complete solitude. I have a very active mind and I can’t stand being idle for too long, so I’ll enjoy it for bit. Soon, I’ll get up and fix a decoration, fluff a pillow, or paint an accent wall!

If you decide to bake a batch of these biscotti, I hope you take a moment for yourself as well. Sit back and relax. In my opinion, anyone who spends time in the kitchen preparing treats for friends and family, deserves a little bit of downtime.

Cooking and baking every day for a family is not easy work. But, we do it because we love it! Or, at least I do! Now, while you go bake, I’m going to package what is left of these biscotti and give them to a neighbour. After all, isn’t that Christmas is all about? Enjoy, Dear Reader!

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Salt
• Lemon Zest
• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Lemon Extract – Lemon extract is quite strong because it has been concentrated, but in a bind, you can use lemon juice here.
• Pistachios – I’m using salted pistachios because the salt balances the sweetness. You can certainly use unsalted.
• Confectioner’s Sugar
• Lemon Juice

HOW TO MAKE LEMON PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Next, whisk in the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the lemon extract to the butter mixture. Beat well to incorporate. Transfer the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on low until just combined. Stir in the pistachios.

Form the dough into a long log on the baking sheet. The dough log should measure 4″ wide by 14″ long. (Dust hands with flour if the dough is too sticky to form into a log.) Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place baking sheet onto a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes. Gently transfer the log to a cutting board. Slice across the log to get slices of 3/4 inch thick. Lay the slices with the cut side down on the baking sheet. Return to oven and bake for 12 minutes. Turn over each slice and bake for 12 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Once completely cooled, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle liberally over the cooled biscotti. Allow the icing to firm up before packaging or storing. Package biscotti for gift-giving or pile into a food-safe container. Leave at room temperature, or freeze until needed for up to 3 months.

WHOLE, RAW, ROASTED, SALTED – WHAT TYPE OF PISTACHIO CAN I USE?

Again, you can have total flexibility here. You will want to use whole pistachios because they look quite nice when you slice through them once the biscotti is baked. I must confess, I’m not a fan of raw nuts of any kind. I know they’re better for me, but I grew up with roasted, salted nuts and seeds. So, that’s what I used here. I used whole, dry-roasted, salted pistachios from Trader Joe’s.

STORING AND FREEZING

These biscotti will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing biscotti, I always double up on the seal action. Before I place the lid on, I always drape a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then I push the lid on. I just feel that the lid fits more tightly. Any little thing I can do to keep the frost out, I’m going to do it! I like to use tins like this.

Like I always say, if you freeze any baked goods, remove only the amount you want when you decide to thaw them. Fetch the container from the freezer and remove only what you need. Put the lid back on and get the container back in the fridge.

To properly thaw baked goods, place them on a plate or a wire cooling rack. Don’t pile them. Spread them out and give them some space. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. They will taste fresh and perfect every single time!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!