Biscotti al Pistacchio Recipe (Pistachio Cookies)

I used a fine, light-brown natural cane sugar here, because it is what I keep on hand. It makes the dough a bit darker, but worked nicely. Use whatever fine grain sugar you like. I also made a portion of my cookies extra tiny. For itty-bitty cookies, form not much more than a teaspoon of dough (1/4 oz / 6-8 g) into balls. Scale back the baking time to 8 – 10 minutes. I should also note, the first time I baked these I only had salted / lightly toasted pistachios on hand. Don’t worry if you’re in the same boat, the cookies are still delicious, but taste a bit more hearty and rustic. If you use raw, skinless pistachios you end up with an extra-vibrant green cookie underneath the powdered coating.

Slightly adapted from the Biscotti al Pistacchio recipe in – Biscotti: Recipes from the Kitchen of The American Academy in Rome, The Rome Sustainable Food Project.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/3 cups/500 g raw pistachios
• 1 cup/200 g granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
• scant 1/2 cup egg whites/3 1/2 oz – from 3 large eggs
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, for coating cookies

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C.
2. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor with 1/2 cup / 100 g of the granulated sugar until the nuts are finely chopped. (Heidi note: I pulsed the nuts until they were the texture of chunky, gravelly sand / lightly pebbled.)
3. Combine the ground pistachio-sugar mixture with the honey, vanilla, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the egg white, mixing until the dough is well combined and soft. At this point, add the rest of the granulated sugar and mix gently.
4. Form the dough into small balls, 16 g / 12 oz, and roll them in the confectioners’ sugar to coat well. Transfer the balls to cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving at least an inch between each cookie.
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the edges of each cookie are golden.
6. These cookies can be stores in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
7. Makes about 50 cookies.

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