Pistachio + Cherry Cornmeal Biscotti

It is hard to believe just how quickly Christmas is approaching. It feels like most of my spare time has been spent in the kitchen baking all kinds of things for the holiday season. I think these Biscotti have been the biggest hit so far. Three batches have already been made, everyone loves them! It's a really wonderful recipe that is simple enough to follow and can be made ahead of time. This makes them perfect to keep on hand for when guests stop by or even give them as hostess' gifts.

The cornmeal gives a whole new texture to your typical biscotti. The saltiness of the pistachios and the tartness of the dried cherries work so well together. Not to mention the colours are super appropriate for the season, but you can add whatever you like to these - almonds, chocolate chips, citrus zest, dried cranberries. I'm sure whatever combination you come up with would be delicious.

I followed this recipe but made a few changes.

Ingredients -

1 and a 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 of a cup of yellow cornmeal
5 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
just over 3/4 of a cup of white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of salted and shelled pistachios
3/4 of a cup of dried cherries

Method -

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together your flour,  baking powder, salt and cornmeal.

With a stand mixer, beat your butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about three minutes) on medium speed. Add in your eggs and continue to beat for two more minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of your bowl. Add in your vanilla extract. Reduce the speed of you mixer to low and add in your dry ingredients in two additions and mix until just combined. Add in your pistachios and cherries and mix until everything seems evenly dispersed.

Sprinkle your worktop with flour, roll your dough into a ball and cut in half. Taking one half of dough, form a long and narrow log on your parchment and gently flatten with your fingers. Do this with your second lump of dough. Bake your logs for twenty-five minutes of until just golden brown and still soft. Place on a rack and let cool for thirty minutes.

Bring your oven back up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Move your logs onto a cutting board and with a serrated knife cut into 3/4 inch slices on a diagonal and place back on your baking tray standing upright. Bake for twenty-five minutes or until golden and firm and dry.

Enjoy these dunked into your tea - it makes them nice and soft! Thank you for reading and have a happy holiday season!

Rosemary + Sea Salt Shortbread

I cannot possibly be the only person who thinks November has just flown by. With only 32 days left until Christmas the countdown is officially on. I know these next few weeks are going to go by pretty quickly so here I am with an easy (and delicious) Christmas cookie recipe that can be made weeks in advanced as shortbread only gets better with age. The beauty with these cookies is that they're both sweet and savoury, thanks to the inclusion of finely chopped rosemary and sea salt. You can also bake them for five or so minutes longer to get a crisper, almost cracker-like cookie. These are the perfect addition to either a cookie tray or a cheese platter.

I closely followed this recipe, but doubled the ingredients. The end result is fantastic and the best part? There are no eggs in this recipe so you can help yourself to as much cookie dough as you fancy (it's so unbelievably tasty).

Ingredients -

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 of a cup of white sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 of a teaspoon of sea salt
2 cups of flour 

Method -

In the bowl of your stand mixer cream together your butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in your rosemary and sea salt. Gradually add in your flour, scraping down the sides of your bowl after every addition. Once combined, divide your dough into four equal balls and loosely wrap with plastic wrap. Shape the dough into four logs, trying to get them as even as possible. Put the dough in the fridge for at least one hour. 

When you're ready to slice and bake your dough, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit an line your baking trays with parchment paper. Slice your dough, I like a nice and thin cookie so I cut mine 1/8th of an inch thick. Place your rounds on your cookie tray and bake for about twelve minutes, or if your cookies were cut a little bit thicker they made need an extra minute or so. Keep your eye on them whilst they're baking to ensure you don't overdo it. If you would like a crisper cookie bake for a total of fifteen minutes (once again this depends on how thick you cut your cookies). This will result in the colour of your shortbread getting darker but will give you an almost cracker-like result. Shortbread only gets better with time so if you can try to store them for a while before enjoying. These can also be frozen and thawed when you're ready to devour. 

I hope that you are all as excited for the holiday season as I am. Be sure to check back frequently as I'll be posting more delicious Christmas recipes. As always, thank you for reading!