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Chocolate Biscotti with Pistachios, Almonds and Dried Cherries
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The late Maida Heatter has about a dozen cookbooks to her name, all of them focused on baking sweets. These biscotti, our adaptation of a recipe from “Maida Heatter’s Best Dessert Book Ever,” are made with a combination of cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate. With a flavor boost from instant espresso powder, they’re dark and rich and not too sugary. Each satisfyingly crunchy slice—perfect with coffee or dessert wine—is studded with pistachios, almonds and dried cherries. We prefer to use Dutch-processed cocoa here, as it lends the cookies a deeper, darker color than natural cocoa, but natural cocoa works, if that’s what you have on hand. Once the biscotti are fully cooled, they will keep in an airtight container for a few weeks. If they soften slightly during that time, put them into a 250°F oven for about 10 minutes; they will crisp as they cool.
Makes about 3 dozen
biscotti
Tip
Don’t use chocolate chips in place of the bittersweet chocolate, as chips contain additives that help them retain their shape but give them a waxiness and affect their flavor. Rather, opt for bittersweet chocolate sold in bars or chunks. When chopping the chocolate, aim for pieces no larger than ¼ inch. Large chunks create big pockets of chocolate in the biscotti that reduce their structural integrity.
1¾ hours
45 minutes active, plus cooling
115 grams (¾ cup) whole almonds
228 grams (1¾ cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
214 grams (1 cup) white sugar
27 grams (⅓ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
228 grams (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (see headnote), divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
115 grams (1 cup) roasted pistachios
71 grams (½ cup) dried cherries, roughly chopped
Ingredients
-
115
grams (¾ cup) whole almonds
-
228
grams (1¾ cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
-
214
grams (1 cup) white sugar
-
27
grams (⅓ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
-
1
tablespoon instant espresso powder
-
1
teaspoon baking soda
-
½
teaspoon table salt
-
228
grams (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (see headnote), divided
-
3
large eggs
-
1½
teaspoons vanilla extract
-
½
teaspoon almond extract
-
115
grams (1 cup) roasted pistachios
-
71
grams (½ cup) dried cherries, roughly chopped
Directions
-
01Heat the oven to 375°F with the racks in the upper- and lower-middle positions. Distribute the almonds in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast on the upper oven rack, stirring once, until lightly browned and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet; reduce the oven to 300°F. When the almonds are cool, transfer to a small bowl; set aside. Line the same baking sheet as well as a second baking sheet with kitchen parchment.
-
02In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. In a food processor, combine ½ cup of the flour mixture and 114 grams (4 ounces) of the chopped chocolate. Process until the chocolate is finely ground, about 25 seconds; do not overprocess or the chocolate may begin to melt. Whisk the mixture into the dry ingredients.
-
03In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and, using a silicone spatula, stir and fold, mashing the mixture against the bowl with the spatula, until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened and no streaks of flour remain. Add the remaining chopped chocolate, the almonds, pistachios and cherries. Lightly flour your hands and knead gently until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
-
04Lightly flour the counter, then turn the dough out on it and divide it in half. Moisten your hands with water and roll one portion into a 14-inch log. Place the log on one side of one of the prepared baking sheets. Shape the remaining dough in the same way and place on the other side of the baking sheet, spacing the logs about 4 inches apart.
-
05Bake on the lower rack until the dough has spread into flat, fissured loaves that are firm on the surface and appear dry in the cracks, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the loaves cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 to 25 minutes; immediately after removing from the oven, reduce the temperature to 275°F.
-
06Using a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer the loaves to a cutting board; reserve the baking sheet and its parchment. Using a serrated knife, cut each still-warm loaf on the diagonal into ⅜- to ½-inch slices; use a gentle sawing motion to slice about halfway through the thickness of the loaf, then bear down on the knife, slicing straight down to complete the cut. (This slicing technique helps prevent breakage, as sawing through the entire thickness of the loaf has a greater chance of dislodging nuts, causing the biscotti to break apart.)
-
07Place the biscotti cut side up in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until firm and dry, about 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets and switching their positions about halfway through. Let cool on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 10 minutes. Transfer the biscotti directly to the racks and cool completely.
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Reviews
October 2, 2022
My new favorite biscotti
Fantastic flavor! Take a bit of time to make, but if you weigh all the ingredients and follow all directions precisely, you will love the result. Rich chocolate flavor, crisp but tender interior, delicious!
December 3, 2022
Fabulous biscotti
These biscotti are delicious! If you weigh all ingredients and closely follow the directions you will be rewarded with a delicious treat, with good staying power in a sealed container.
July 2, 2022
Extraordinary biscottis
This is the best biscotti recipe I tried. It is a bit involved but the results are well worth the effort.
Wow. I wish I could agree that these were easy to make. For me they were the opposite! The mixture was so dry it was very hard to incorporate all the chocolate, nuts, and cherries. In baking, the bottoms of the logs burned since I followed the direction to do the first bake on the lower rack (even though I took them out at 35 minutes, not 45-50, when they were definitely done). When I tried to cut them, carefully sawing, then bearing down, using a serrated knife as instructed, almost every slice broke apart. The crumbs tasted good, but for the 3 hours I invested, it was a very disappointing result, and not suitable for giving away or even serving to guests.
The mixture was very dry the first time I made them so I added and extra large egg. The second time I used Extra Large Eggs and I used a Stand Mixer. The dough was like almost dry cement, but the mixer mixed it and I used a dough hook after added all chocolate and nuts at the end. That did the job. I really think you left something out, the dough was so difficult to work with.
They were delicious and worth the work.
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Your First Issue
I loved this! So easy to make. The biscottis are crisp but have brownie-like, fudgy chocolate flavor. I appreciate the detailed instructions.
I assumed it was a typo in the ingredient list and added 1/2 cup of cherries, not 7 grams of cherries. :) Did you mean 70g?