Cranberry Pistachio Dark Chocolate Biscotti

Crisp and crunchy, these cranberry pistachio dark chocolate biscotti are PERFECT for dunking in hot coffee or tea! Filled with cranberries, orange zest, nuts and chocolate, they are a delicious holiday season treat. And excellent for gift giving. Vegetarian.

Three Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti and a cup of coffee.

Note: This recipe is NOT dairy free. It was published before Cook Nourish Bliss transitioned to dairy free recipes and remains popular with long time readers. You can try using substitutions to make it dairy free, however I have not tested this myself and can’t say how it will turn out. Or, you can try these vanilla almond vegan biscotti instead!

I feel like the queen of biscotti lately. I’ve been churning out batches like nobody’s business.

Some for the blog. Some for Christmas presents. And then some just for fun.

Because clearly, clearly I need more biscotti in the house right now. I don’t know where my head is sometimes. Other than the christmas cookie making clouds.

Let’s pretend there is such a place. That way I can rationalize my behavior. Okay? Deal.

So the real reason I love biscotti so much? It’s the dunking. The dunking party that is a total necessity whenever I eat these crunchy little cookies. Coffee, hot tea, milk. It doesn’t matter.

Three Pistachio Chocolate Biscotti on a white plate with more in the background.

About These Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

And this right here. This flavor combination is hands down my favorite out of all the umpteen million batches I’ve made. For eating. And dunking. Obviously.

Cranberries + pistachios + dark chocolate + orange zest = go grab your mixer right away and make a batch because you need these in your life.

Now. I know you’re not supposed to use real fruit in biscotti because of the moisture. I did it anyway in these with fresh cranberries because, well, I wanted to. And my oh my, is it good.

But PLEASE be sure to read the notes section in the recipe below. I’m giving you options. Fresh versus dried. Because if you use fresh, these will not stay crunchy like normal biscotti.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. That’s me eating biscotti as I’m writing up this post. Don’t worry, I have a cup of tea as well. I think I may have a little problem.

I ♥ you biscotti. Please send help.

Three Fresh Cranberry Biscotti on a white plate with more in the background.

Additional Cookie Recipes:

Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Cranberry Pistachio Dark Chocolate Biscotti | cookiemonstercooking.com

Cranberry Pistachio Dark Chocolate Biscotti

Yield: about 22 to 24 biscotti
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Crisp and crunchy, these cranberry pistachio dark chocolate biscotti are PERFECT for dunking in hot coffee or tea! Filled with cranberries, orange zest, nuts and chocolate, they are a delicious holiday season treat. And excellent for gift giving. Vegetarian. 

Ingredients

For the cranberries (see notes):

  • ¾ cup fresh cranberries
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For the biscotti:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons orange zest
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
  • ¼ cup shelled pistachios, chopped
  • coarse or sparkling sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

For the cranberries:

  1. Add the cranberries to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl and toss with the 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. Set aside.

For the biscotti:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and orange zest. Use your fingers to sort of massage the zest into the sugar. Add in the butter. Beat on medium speed until well combined.
  4. Add in the vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs. Beat on medium until combined (it may look slightly curdled).
  5. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture, and mix until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the cranberries, dark chocolate and pistachios.
  6. Divide the dough in half and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Using wet fingers, shape each half into a rectangle that is about 9 inches long, 3 inches wide and ½ inch thick, leaving several inches of space in between the two sections of dough. {I find it helpful to draw the rectangles on the parchment paper and then dump half the dough into each and use the lines to pat it into the correct shape.}
  7. With wet fingers, smooth out the top and sides of each rectangle. If desired, sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 325ºF. After the 10 minutes is up, use a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise into about ¾ inch thick slices. Balance the slices upright on the baking sheet.
  10. Return to the oven and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the biscotti feel dry and are starting to turn golden brown. They may feel a tiny bit moist in the centers, but will continue to dry out further as they cool down.
  11. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

So here’s the deal with these biscotti - they are completely amazing with the fresh cranberries as listed in the recipe above. HOWEVER - because of the moisture from the fruit, they do not keep their crunch like regular biscotti. So if you are not going to eat these fast (i.e. within about 1 day or so), DON’T use the fresh cranberries. You can ADJUST with the following:

Skip the step with the food processor (and the ¾ cup fresh cranberries and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar). INSTEAD, fold in ½ cup dried cranberries (roughly chopped) with the dark chocolate and pistachios.

With the dried cranberries instead of the fresh, these biscotti will stay crunchy like regular biscotti and keep for quite a good amount of time.

Another option if you want to use the fresh cranberries. After the first day, like I said above, the biscotti lose their crunch. You can sort of re-dry them out in the oven. Set them back on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350ºF. Keep an eye on them while baking to make sure they don’t burn. After baking, let them sit for about 10 minutes directly on the baking sheet to cool down. This worked like a charm for me and they were back to crunchy goodness.

Biscotti base adapted from King Arthur Flour

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 122Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 88mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g

Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.