Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Nutella-Pistachio Biscotti

 
I'm here to tell you about my absolute biggest weakness ever. Nutella! This delectable chocolate hazelnut cream might as well be my drug of choice. I adore any and everything containing the brown gold, but honestly in a pinch a spoon and the jar will suffice. I'm pretty sure you remember one of my favorite ice creams this year: Nutella Ice Cream. What a treat this was and since it is so easy I have made it several times more since it was featured on my blog. In fact, my sister who is visiting has been begging me to make it so she can try it as well and I might just have to oblige.

I'm sure you are wondering where I'm going with this declaration of addiction love but I do have a point for admitting my weakness in a public forum. See, I was craving something with Nutella a few days ago and knew I had to satisfy the monster or it would only get worse from there. My husband (bless his heart) knows about this obsession all to well and being the good man he is, he went on the internet to find me a recipe I could not only eat, but also blog about. Now, that is what I call love! This is how he came about this biscotti recipe and I was immediately sold, especially after I remembered that biscotti could very well be consumed with a cup of coffee for breakfast (lunch or dinner), just don't tell anyone I encourage this.


The recipe is again super easy (see a trend here), but since the cookies are baked twice (hence the name, which means "twice baked" in Italian) it is a little time consuming. I think this was truly the first time I made a biscotti recipe and it just "worked". In the past I didn't have problems with baking it the first time, but once I had to slice the cookies for the second round of baking, disaster struck and the biscotti always fell apart unless I cut them way thicker than they should have been and then you might as well keep your dentist on speed dial. Well, that all changed with this recipe. Eggs and sugar are whisked in a stand mixer (or you can do the whole recipe by hand with a little muscle power) Nutella is incorporated until the mix is emulsified. Flour, baking powder, and a little salt are added and finally shelled, rough chopped pistachios are thrown into the mix. The dough is pretty tough and sticky at this point but you turn it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat, grease your hands a little and form the dough into two equal logs. They are baked for about 25 minutes, then cooled for 10 before slicing and baking them again. The final step, once the cookies are cooled, is to make a glaze for the biscotti out of Nutella, powdered sugar and boiling water. As you can see by the pictures, I made some drizzled with the glaze, but also left about half of them plain and I almost like them better that way even though my kids are protesting right now as I'm typing this since they liked them glazed better.

This is my favorite new biscotti recipe and I might just have to have a tin filled with those around at all times. Even my chocolate hating husband snuck a few for breakfast and loved them. I also think they look really pretty with the green pistachios poking out here and there and I'm planning to make them around Christmas time again to add to my cookie plates, but with the addition of cranberries or cherries for an even more festive look. So, all my Nutella loving friends and readers out there, I hope you'll give this recipe a try and love it as much as we did!


Nutella-Pistachio Biscotti
(adapted from Christmas-Cookies.com)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Nutella, divided
1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons boiling water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk (reserve the extra egg white) and 1 cup granulated sugar until well mixed. Add 3/4 cup Nutella; mix well. Gently stir in flour, salt and baking powder along with the pistachios.

Divide dough in half and form into two 12 x 2-inch logs on prepared baking sheet. Brush logs with remaining egg white and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating baking sheet once after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.

Turn oven down to 300 degrees F. Remove logs from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. While warm, cut logs  width-wise on slight diagonal to form  1/2 inch-wide strips. Lay on sides on baking sheet. Bake cookies for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from baking sheet.

When cool, in a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup Nutella, powdered sugar and boiling water until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cookies with fork or dip one end of each cookie into glaze. Dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour to set the glaze.

38 comments:

  1. Oohhhh, I would do illegal things for Nutella, too! I have an unopened jar in my pantry... looks like I'll be making these! I've made biscotti once before and they turned out crumbly and dry-- if you recommend these then I'm in!

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  2. Love nutella. Love biscotti too. This would be wonderful to enjoy for breakfast or snack.

    As always, beautiful.

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  3. Is there anyone who doesn't love nutella?! I can totally see why you love those biscotti.

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  4. I've never made biscotti but might just have to try these. The flavors sound delicious and they are very pretty. I love that your family helps you find recipes for your blog.

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  5. Rocquie, I love it too! They are all extremely excited and helpful and love it when a recipe they helped pick gets a lot of comments or the pictures are accepted somewhere. It's pretty cute and I'm very proud of my crew :o)

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  6. mmmm. i have some hazelnut and nutella biscotti to make for a wedding next week. so yummy. :)

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  7. Oh my.....nutella is some addictive stuff and these look like the perfect way to cap off an evening or even start the day:)

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  8. Mmmm nutella! I could eat that stuff by the jar full. I never thought incorporate it into biscotti, what a fantastic idea. :)

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  9. Just with the first sentence of this post I have decided that you are my new best friend! And then you also give us a nutella-pistachio biscotti recipe? Can I be your neighbor? Jokes aside, I just realized I have never made biscotti myself and you really inspired me today. Thanks

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  10. Your biscotti looks out of this world!!!! I made it once before , but just the plain one, this is absolutely amazing!

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  11. Susi, you have given us another winning recipe. It is impossible not to love hazelnuts and nutella :-). I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  12. Ooh, in the dough AND drizzled on top--this much Nutella is making me weak in the knees.

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  13. Oh, Susie. Das ist ja ein super Rezept! Werde ich ganz bestimmt nachbacken. Nutella UND Pistazien. Genial.

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  14. Oh I'm with you Nutella is definitely one of my weakness :) I am loving your Biscotti . I like to grab a spoonful too, yeah just like with peanut butter.

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  15. You are a mad genius! I'm gaining weight just staring at your pics. Brown Gold, that had me rolling! I'm just going to stare at them awhile longer!
    -Gina-

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  16. p.s. please send me your address, so I can find a home close to yours! He He

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  17. Nutella has my stole my heart too! Love the sound of these with pistachios! These are lovely treats.

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  18. I love these! Nutella is really such a great ingredient to use. Thanks for sharing.

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  19. I'm a nutella addict as well...I'm going to have to see if I can make this work with whole wheat flour!

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  20. This biscotti looks really awesome! Then you had to go and put Nutella in it?! I bet it is super yummy! LOVE nutella!!! :)

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  21. Ooooo you're going to get me in trouble with my husband!! He said to simma down with the baking, but these are a MUST! Maybe I will make them and he ca share them with his coworkers? yeah ;) Looks lovely, Susi!

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  22. Oh I love Nutella...and biscotti are always so much fun to make!

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  23. Nutella is just so darn easy to have around the house and oh the trouble we can get into when it's in the pantry;) I just love this recipe and the addition of cranberries or cherries makes these little babies perfect Christmas cookies. Beautiful photos!

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  24. Susi, you have just read my mind! We love (well, who doesn't?) nutella and these look really inviting with pistachio!

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  25. I love Nutella too. I can no longer indulge the addiction (although I have made my own homemade version). If I could, I would be ALL over these biscotti!

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  26. I love biscotti with coffee in the afternoon- this nutella version sounds so good!

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  27. This looks so delicious! They look so perfect too! Great flavor combo -- I'm sure!

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  28. I can just have this without the coffee... delicious.

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  29. What am I supposed to do if I want to leave a comment but I'm afraid when I hit post the three linked recipes that I see up there change and I can't go back and look at the molten lava cakes with Frangelico in them???? ARRGHHHH!

    Anyhow, I'll take my chances. This look incredible! I always forget about biscotti and I love the stuff. I hate to admit it, especially since you're such a Nutella lover, but I've never tasted it. I love, adore and covet everything hazelnut though. My only question...is it REALLY chocolaty or would a non-chocolate lover still like it?

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  30. Mom Chef, I think you have to like chocolate an awful lot to eat Nutella by the spoonful like me BUT my husband (who is not a chocolate lover at all) will eat recipes that include it, like my Nutella Ice Cream or the biscotti, he just preferred the unglazed and would never eat it plain LOL

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  31. This is a lovely recipe and a great idea with the nutella and nuts - I think i may try it with hazelnuts or walnuts. Nutella is wonderful stuff and I can see there are a lot of people out there who agree. These will be perfect at Christmas. All the best.

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  32. Nutella and biscotti? I'm in heaven!

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  33. This is the perfect bread to be enjoyed while relaxing and accompanied with a cup of coffee. I really liked this cake because they are made of chocolate cake and I am a chocolate lover. Thanks for sharing your recipe and I'll try it at home with my wife.

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  34. Yum - that glaze is incredibly inviting, and I just love the addition of pistachios. Well done!

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