Cranberry Orange Pistachio Biscotti

With the holidays quickly approaching, all I feel like doing is baking - cakes, cookies, pies, and biscotti.  I love biscotti and never feel stuffed after eating one or two.  I love them with my coffee, tea or even as a midday snack.  They're so light and delicious!

A favorite recipe I've been making for years is Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti.  After viewing a biscotti recipe on one of the many blogs I frequent, I decided this morning when I woke up that I was going to make mine -  however, I thought I'd change it up a bit.  

I had some delicious Blood Orange Olive Oil that I purchased from a store that recently opened  at Plaza Frontenac in St. Louis, called DiOlivas.  I love Olive Oil and Vinegar stores as you're probably aware, if you've been following my blog for a while.  With a myriad of choices, each one delicious and unique in their own way (I was able to sample whatever I wanted), I walked out with quite a few varieties to take home and create, culinary masterpieces!

DiOlivas is a locally owned family business, so if you live in or around the St. Louis, Missouri area you should definitely pay them a visit.  If not, you can always purchase their products online - everything I tasted was so good, you can't go wrong with any of them.

So, this morning I decided to make biscotti.   Instead of my usual recipe that I often make during the holidays, I decided to use my Blood Orange Olive Oil instead of plain Olive Oil, plus, add the zest of an orange.  

OMG!  You have no idea how moist and delicious these were!  Even my daughter said they were the best biscotti I've ever made.  

So of course I knew I had to share the recipe with you.  I know you're going to love them.  Besides making them for yourself, don't forget to package some up to give as a holiday gift.  Who wouldn't love these?

Cranberry Orange Pistachio Biscotti

Makes approximately 28-30

¼ cup DiOlivas Blood Orange Olive Oil

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups, unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup dried cranberries

1 ½ cups pistachio nuts, shelled

Zest of one Orange

Preheat oven to 300F degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, blend olive oil and sugar together. 

Then add vanilla and almond extracts and eggs, beating until the mixture is completely blended.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder until thoroughly combined.  On low speed, gradually add to the egg mixture.  Fold in orange zest, pistachios and dried cranberries.

Divide dough in half.  On the cookie sheet, form each half into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.  Space logs about 4 inches apart.  (Dough will be sticky so lightly moisten hands in cold water before forming into logs).

Bake in center of oven for 35 minutes or until the logs are light brown.  Remove from oven and turn heat down to 275F degrees.  Let logs cool on baking sheet 10 minutes.

With a large metal spatula, remove the logs to cutting board and using a long, sharp knife, cut each log on the diagonal into ¾ -inch slices. 

Stand slices upright on cookie sheet and return to oven for 8-10 minutes, until they are light brown.

Cool biscotti on rack and store in a tin between sheets of waxed paper.  They can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!!!

Fruit and Nut Natural Nutrition Bars

It wasn't until two weeks ago while running errands and feeling famished, that I stopped into Starbucks to get some iced green tea when I spotted Kind Bars, a fruit and nut natural nutritional bar.  Realizing that I didn't have time to stop and grab a bite anywhere, I decided to try one.  WOW!  They were fantastic with just the right amount of fruits, nuts, chew and satisfaction.  That little bar kept me full the rest of the afternoon.  I was shocked!

When I finally made it home my mission was to find a recipe for these.  I searched online and viewed a variety of recipes and even tried them, but none had the right combination of ingredients to keep them held together.  One claimed to be perfect and others had testified, but it had Brown Rice Syrup in it, an ingredient I recently wrote about.  So decided not to try this version.

Besides loving the flavor my main goal was to find a granola-like or nutrition bar that I could make to take while biking or hiking through the mountains where I'll be soon.  Typically I go on 3-4 hour bike rides and 4-5 hour hikes, so a nutritional bar is the perfect fix for a tired, hungry body in the middle of the mountains.  At $4+ a pop for a bar I'd prefer making my own, that is, if it's not going to take all day.

The first batch I made had all the right ingredients

BUT

just didn't hold together well.

The second batch I made, I added oats, 7-whole grain cereal and peanut butter, subbing out honey for Lyle's Golden Syrup..  This one turned out perfect.  If you're a fan of peanut butter, I think you'll like this.  Next time I'm going to try it with Lyle's Golden Syrup, a favorite of mine.

In addition, I chopped the nuts rather than leaving them whole, which only made it easier to slice but IMO looks prettier left in one piece.

I hope you like this quick, easy, tasty and nutritious bar.  It's a perfect snack when you're on the run!

Fruit & Nut Natural Nutrition Bars

serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats (I used Quaker Old Fashioned Oats)
¼ cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp almonds, chopped (I used slivered)
1 Tbsp pistachios, chopped
½ cup water
½ Kashi 7-Whole Grain Puffs
¾ cup creamy peanut butter (I used low sodium, organic)
½ cup honey (next time I'm using Lyle's Golden Syrup because I like it)
1 cup mixed dried fruit (I used, Plum Amazin's, strawberries and apricots), roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine oats, seeds, and nuts.  Spread onto a foil lined sheet pan, and bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan bring water to a boil, then remove from the heat.  Add the Kashi cereal letting it absorb the water, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and honey, returning saucepan back to the stove on a  medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the fruit, oats, seeds and nuts into the peanut-butter mixture, blending all together with a rubber or silicone spatula, until ingredients are evenly coated.

4. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.  Pour the mixture into the pan, and using your spatula, press into a uniform thickness. 

5. Cover and move the pan to the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.

6. Cut into 8 equal sized bars. Wrap individually in wax paper, tied with twine for traveling or enjoy straight from the refrigerator.

These bars will keep at room temperature for 2 days, or refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Note: Remember this is simply a blueprint of a recipe that worked for me.  Now you can tweak this recipe to suit your taste, or allergies, and make your own unique bar.  Please share your results.  I'd love to hear them.

ENJOY!!!