Pistachio Cream Filled Biscotti
Oh my, biscotti with layers of pistachio cream marbled throughout!
It couldn’t get much better than this for me or for the lovely Mr G.
A treat for me and the lovely Mr G, who isn’t the biggest coffee drinker, that is until I make these and he suddenly becomes a coffee guzzling Geordie, until they run out and then he’s back to his usual hot tipple of green tea!
Make sure to read the tip box before starting to make the biscotti, not because they’re difficult to make, just that the tips are really useful making these even easier to put together.
There is nothing difficult about making these, otherwise I’d leave them well alone, they’d be at the bottom of my biscuit list not close to the top.
Other biscotti’s recipes i love to make have a different texture, a little harder, more toothsome.
These, because of the layered pistachio cream, give a less firm finished biscuit, a less tooth breaking texture.
I think what is appealing to the lovely Mr G about these biscotti, is the lack of over-the-top sweetness with a layer of what he calls “Posh nut spread”.
I suppose pistachio cream is just that, it’s certainly great on toast and an added bonus, our furry four-legged baby, our Vizsla Ellie, loves to lick the spoon.
I like to spread the love!
Even Ellie loves pistachio cream
Go on, give them a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Straight from the oven
What You Need
250g Plain Flour – Plus Extra for Rolling
115g Castor Sugar
115g Cold Butter – Cut into small cubes
2 Large Eggs
¾ Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Small Jar or Pistachio Cream
Layers of pistachio cream
How It’s Done
Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them together- just to make sure everything is evenly distributed
Add the cold butter cubes and cut them into the flour mixture until they are the size of small peas – See Tip Box
Add the eggs and the vanilla and using a blunt knife, mix it all together until it starts to come together. - See Tip Box
Once the mix starts to come together, use hands to bring it all together into a ball – See Tip Box
Once the dough becomes smooth, shape into an oblong shape, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest and cool. - If you can still see small bits of butter in the dough, thats ok.
From the fridge
Heat the oven to 180c.
Use some non-stick baking parchment (or a silicone mat) onto a baking tray and set aside until needed
Take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap and place on a clean work-surface that had been generously dusted with flour
Add more flour to the top of the dough to prevent it sticking to the rolling pin
Roll out the soft dough until it is approx. 16” by 12” – See Tip Box
Make the size approximate
Very gently and generously, spread the pistachio cream all over the dough – See Tip Box
Don’t skimp on the pistachio cream
Fold over both of the short sides of the dough by 1”
Fold the short edges in
First Fold - Take the long side of the dough and fold it over so the edge is in the middle
Make the first fold
Second Fold - Fold the long side over a second time
Second fold
Third Fold - Make a third fold
The last fold
Gently flip the dough over so the seam side is down and place it onto the prepared oven tray
Fold size down
Put the oven tray into the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes until the top is a nice golden-brown colour.
Once baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool on the tray for 10 minutes
Its baked when the top is a nice golden brown
Once cold enough to handle, while still on the tray and using a serrated knife, slice into approx. ¾ “slices – See Tip Box
A serrated knife works best to cut the biscotti when hot.
Keeping the slices on the tray, separate the slices, leaving as much room between them as you can - See Tip Box
Return the tray to the hot oven and bake for another 7 minutes
Remove the tray from the oven and leave the biscotti on the tray to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
As much space between them for their second bake
Store the biscotti in an airtight container
Crisp, but not too much
Tip Box
Cut In – 1) Cutting in is a term used to describe combing the fat, in this case butter, into the dry ingredients, in this case the flour mixture.
2) ‘Cutting’ because the fat is cut up again and again making it smaller and smaller until it’s as small as the recipe asks for, in this case as small as a pea.
3) I use a pastry cutter to ‘Cut” the bitter into the flour mixture. If there is one thing i would recommend anyone to buy for their kitchen, this would be the thing. I use this every time i make pastry or biscuits of this kind.
Pastry Cutter
Blunt knife - Using a blunt knife, such as a butter knife to mix the dough in the first stage of mixing, stops the heat of my hands from melting the butter into the flour mixture
Bring together – The dough will be quite sticky, so if it’s too sticky, dust hands with a little flour. to stop them sticking.
Size – This is only an approximate size, in reality a little bit smaller or larger will be ok too, just adjust the baking time accordingly.
Spread the pistachio cream – Because the dough is soft and I don’t want to rip it, and the pistachio cream is firm straight from the pot, I usually take some out of the pot into a small bowl and give it a bit of a mix with a spoon, just to make it easier to spread.
Slicing – 1) Using a serrated knife makes cutting the hot biscotti a lot easier.
2) While hot, the dough is prone to crumbling, so even though it needs to be sliced, take care.
3) Leaving the biscotti on the tray while slicing helps stop the slices from breaking up.
Crumbly yet firm, perfect for a coffee bath
