Rosy Apricot and Pistachio Biscotti

I made these biscotti for a farewell afternoon tea, for a colleague who is going away for a year for her new baby arrival. 

This is my first time baking biscotti because I was afraid that biscotti can be too hard to bite and munch. After seeing this recipe, it was hard to resist baking this beautiful creation. This biscotti has a lovely blend of green from the pistachios and orange from the apricot. With rosewater, they are so elegant for such a sweet occasion.

I had to seek some advice from two of my colleagues, both with Italian background. One said that 30 min of the second bake is too long and can be reduced to 10 min for a less firmer texture, but the other felt that this texture is truly how an Italian biscotti can be. Now that I know the texture of this biscotti can be customized according to individual's preference by varying the duration of the second bake.

 

Here's the recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly 'Macarons & Biscuits' book
(with my modification in blue)

Make 40 (I made 34 with this recipe, I might have sliced them slightly thicker.)

220g caster sugar
2 eggs
200g plain flour
50g self raising flour
55g finely chopped dried apricots
45g unsalted roasted pistachios
4 tsp rosewater

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Line and grease oven tray.

Whisk sugar and eggs in a bowl until combined.

Stir in sifted flours, then dried apricots, nuts and rosewater.

Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. (Dough is sticky. I tried to avoid adding more flour to this mixture but I've added about 2 tbsp of flour to get dough to have a smooth surface.)

Divide dough into 2 and shape each portion into 20 cm log. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Cool on tray for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C (130°C fan forced).

Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 5mm slices. Place slices on lined oven trays and bake biscotti for 30 minutes or until dry and crisp, turning halfway through baking.

Cool on wire racks.

Happy Baking
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