There are many options to replace egg and I decided to use flax-seed meal as the egg replacer as I felt they wouldn’t make the biscotti dense and at the same time provide the required lift and texture that’s needed for biscotti. The result of using flax-seed meal was just awesome. The original recipe uses only apricot, I used dried mango, dried cranberries & pomegranate blend along with pistachios. The biscotti were bursting with fresh orange flavor and they were so crunchy and nutty with a bonus subtle sweet taste from dried fruits. A lovely companion for coffee or tea.
Step-by-Step Recipe:
Mix 2 tbsp flax seed powder in 6 tbsp of water, set aside for 5 minutes. Make orange zest out of a medium orange.
Rub orange zest and sugar well. Beat butter and sugar mixture until fluffy.
Add flax seed mixture with the butter+sugar and beat well until fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and orange extract and mix well.
Add flour mixture (all-purpose flour+ baking powder+ salt), and mix until well combined.
Add pistachios and dried fruits and mix with a wooden/rubber spatula. Divide the dough in to 2 and make 10 inch logs. Arrange them on baking sheet and bake at 350F for 25 minutes rotating the pan mid way for even baking.
Remove the logs from the oven, let it cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Cut the logs at a 45 angle and about 1/2 inch in width. Arrange them on the baking sheet and bake again for 15 minutes or until the biscotti are well cooked and golden brown. Note: I needed additional 3 minutes to get the crispy texture.
Orange Pistachio Biscotti with Dried Fruits
Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar — 1 cup
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- All purpose flour — 2 cups
- Baking powder — 1 1/4 tsp
- Salt — 1/2 tsp
- Unsalted Butter (at room temperature) — 1 stick (4 oz)
- Orange extract — 1/2 tsp
- Pure vanilla extract — 1 tsp
- Flax seed meal/powder — 2 Tbsp mixed in 6 Tbsp of water
- Pistachio nuts — 1/2 cup
- Dried fruits (I used dried apricots, dried cranberries & pomegranate blend, dried mango) — about 1 cup
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix flax seed powder and water and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a seperate bowl extract the zest of 1 medium orange and rub them well with sugar. In a separate bowl mix all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat sugar mixture and butter with a electric or hand held mixture until light and fluffy. Add flax seed meal mixture to the butter+sugar mixture and blend well until fluffy. Add vanilla esscense, orange extract and mix well.
- Now add the flour mixture in 2-3 batches and mix until well combined. Finally add the pistachio nuts, dried fruits and mix with a rubber/wooden spatula in to the dough.
- Divide the dough in to 2 batches and make 2 logs 10 inches each. Flatten the log lightly with your fingers. Arrange the logs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange the baking rack in the middle of the oven, bake the logs for 25 minutes while rotating the sheet mid way about 15 minutes of baking time. Remove the logs and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
- Reduce the oven heat to 325F. Slice the logs about 1/2 inch thick and in a slant (45 angle). Arrange the sliced pieces on the baking sheet. Bake again for 15 minutes, flipping the biscottis and rotating the baking sheet at about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Let it cool completely and enjoy the crunchy, nutty, and delicious biscotti that you’ve made.
