I came up with this Vegan Pistachio Biscotti recipe because of my father-in-law. Roberto was Roman and it is largely due to him that I started baking at all. He baked massive blueberry muffins (hence my obsession with jumbo muffins) and cherry pies. But he was probably most well-known for his little biscotti. I say “little” because his were never those obscenely large batons masquerading as Italian cookies inside coffee shops. Not only are store bought biscotti too big, they are often times dry and hard enough to damage your teeth.
Roberto’s biscotti were sufficiently petite to enjoy in one sitting. While they always possessed the characteristic “crunch” of a cookie, their centers were chewy enough to transmit both flavor and depth—two things often lacking in mass produced biscotti. In other words, if you want the kind of biscotti that will break your window, these Vegan Pistachio Biscotti are not for you.
Now, I could never quite master his trick for making them exactly the right balance of crunch to chew. Something in the drying process. But I have to say, these Vegan Pistachio Biscotti are the only ones I’ll eat—not only because they’re vegan, but now that Roberto is no longer with us, these are truly the next best thing.
Vegan Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
- 250 grams all purpose flour
- 250 grams caster (icing) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- 150 grams pistachio unsalted
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons aquafaba or flaxseed egg 1 tbsp flaxseed + 4 tbsp water
- 110 grams vegan butter
- 2 Tablespoons plant milk
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together flax seed and water and set aside. [Skip if using aquafaba]
- In a stand mixer, mix together vegan butter, together with sugar until creamy.
- Next add flax egg or aquafaba and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add all dry ingredients, nuts, and raisins/cranberries and whisk.
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into stand mixer bowl until a rough dough forms.
- Remove from bowl and place on floured surface. Shape dough into a large ball and divide in half.
- On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, shape the two balls into two large logs, approximately 12 inches long and 2inches wide. Make sure to put 3-4 inches of space between the two logs, as they will spread a bit in the oven.
- Place in oven for ~25 minutes. Remove from oven and let the logs cool completely. Then, taking a bread (serrated) knife, cut the logs into 1/2 inch thick slices (I like my biscotti small!).
- Place the slices cut-side down onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Reduce heat in oven to 275 degrees F and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy.
