Biscotti get a bad rap for being dry and hard. It’s almost like you’re forced to dunk them in your coffee or tea so you don’t break a tooth. This recipe is oh so different. It must be the magical combination of the cranberries and pecans… creating a much softer and more delicate cookie. Now you can choose whether you want to dunk or not:) Of course, I still eat them with my coffee for breakfast. Coffee makes everything better, amiright?
Orange Pecan Cranberry Biscotti
- 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- zest of 2 oranges, chopped
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1 cup dried cranberries
In a stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes. Now, add in the orange zest. (I like to zest my orange to obtain long zest strips and then cut them up into nice small (1/8 inch or so) pieces.)
Now, mix in one cup of flour along with the baking powder and salt. Once combined, add the remaining flour. It will be fairly think at this point. Finally, add in the pecans and dried cranberries. You can either mix for just a few seconds with the mixer or give a quick stir by hand.
Place the dough in two piles on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. One very simple trick is to wet your hands, which will make it much easier to form the logs. It really keeps your hands from sticking to the dough!
This batter will become wider as it bakes. I like to shape them into about 4″ wide logs, anticipating that I will end up with about a 6″ wide final loaf. Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown.
Let the logs cool on the tray for about 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes. Once the logs are almost completely cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to saw the logs into slices. I like to cut them at an angle. Use a back and forth sawing motion so you don’t rip the big pieces of pecans out of the soft loaf. Once sliced, place the biscotti back on the cookie sheet.
Lay them on one side and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 4 to 6 minutes on the other side, depending on how you like them. (I like to re-bake these slightly less than my other varieties of biscotti to keep them soft, for a different texture. If they are all the same, what fun is that?)
Finally, place your biscotti on a cooling rack for 30 to 60 minutes. They will keep in an airtight container for 1 – 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
