I loooooove rosemary in baked goods, especially during the holiday season. Like the way fresh basil heralds summer, rosemary seems to evoke comfort and warmth, and the smell of it baking is my favorite way to greet winter. I’ve also realized that I can sustain this pleasure by making cookies that last for a long time, which is more than I can say for those adorable rosemary trees that always seem to die after a week or so (although that could just be my black thumb).
The template for these biscotti is from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: from My Home to Yours, a recipe that is quite amenable to all sorts of variation. The combination of lemon, rosemary, and pistachios is fantastic in a sweet cookie, and I also think they would be divine with pignoli nuts in place of the pistachios. I find that this recipe produces biscotti that are more tender and crumbly than the very hard and crunchy sort, so do keep that in mind if your biscotti interests dictate a preference (I like them to be not too tooth-cracking, myself). Also, if you’re like me and crazy about rosemary, feel free to add the whole 1 1/2 tablespoons. If you’re not sure, start with just a few teaspoons to see how you like it.
Lemon Rosemary Biscotti
Adapted from Baking: from My Home to Yours
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt together.
In a large mixing bowl, rub the sugar, lemon zest, and rosemary together with your fingers until combined. With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the sugar mixture with the butter until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then fold in the pistachios. The dough will be soft and rather sticky.
Scoop half of the dough onto one side of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a spatula or and your fingers, form the dough into a log about 12″ long and 1 1/2″ wide. Repeat with the remaining dough on the other side of the baking sheet.
Bake until the logs are a light golden and firm, but springy in the center - about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes (leaving the oven on).
When cool, cut the logs into 1/2″ to 3/4″ slices, and place the slices back on the parchment-lined baking sheet, standing the pieces up. Return the sheet to the oven and bake until biscotti are golden and firm, about 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on racks. Biscotti will keep for about a month in an airtight container.