Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

This biscotti is flavoured with orange zest and dotted with dried cranberries and roasted pistachios making for a beautiful festive holiday cookie that is sure to please anyone on your list! The chewy dried cranberries paired with the crunchy pistachios makes for a delicious texture combination.

I typically make biscotti every Christmas. I tend to play around with different flavour combinations - since the possibilities are seemingly endless. This year I decided to go with an orange, cranberry and pistachio flavour. I love the way that it turned out! The pistachios and cranberries make for a very festive looking biscotti and all of the flavours play really well together. Adding a drizzle of white chocolate finishes off this beautiful looking biscotti making it extra festive and perfect for the holidays! 

Biscotti is a cookie that you bake twice. First as a log, then you cut it into individual cookies and bake it again. The second baking helps to toast the cookies, drying them out. This means that the cookies last for longer than your typical cookie. This is one of the things I love about making biscotti for the holidays. You can make it early on, giving you plenty of time to prepare other dishes or baking closer to Christmas. Biscotti also makes a simple and affordable gift for friends and family to enjoy with their coffee or tea.  Wrapped in a beautiful mug with some cellophane it makes for an adorable hostess gift!

Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

1/2 c butter, at room temperature 

1 c sugar 

2 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 1/4 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tbsp orange zest

1/2 c dried cranberries 

1/2 c  roasted pistachios, chopped 

1/4 c white chocolate chips, melted

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. 

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium to high speed beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix in vanilla. 

On low speed, mix dry ingredients into wet, until just combined. The dough will be fairly dry but should start to come together in large clumps. Stir in orange zest, cranberries and pistachios until just combined. 

Turn dough out onto the countertop. Knead dough until it comes together. Shape into a large log  (about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick) and press to flatten slightly. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. 

Allow biscotti to cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting into slices (cut on a diagonal for a more elegant look). Lay slices on baking sheet. 

Bake in a 325F oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and almost dry. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Cinnamon Rolls

Is there anything better than delicious doughy cinnamon rolls slathered with a cream cheese glaze straight out of the oven? 

These cinnamon rolls are dangerous! As in I wanted to sit and eat the entire pan straight out of the oven kinda dangerous. These things are good and they make your entire house smell amazing. 

I am always slightly nervous when baking anything that involves yeast. There is always the question of will this work out? Will it rise? You put in some much time (and hope) waiting for the dough to rise - you really want it to work out! There is something so relaxing about measuring out the ingredients, mixing the dough, leaving it to rise and watching it bake in the oven.  It is a lovely cozy ritual - perfect for a sunday morning.   You can make the dough for these cinnamon rolls the day before - and bake them the next morning! Enjoy them fresh from the oven with a large cup of coffee or tea. These would make for the perfect Christmas morning treat! 

Cinnamon Rolls 

With Cream Cheese Glaze

Directions

In a glass measuring cup, add the yeast to the warm milk and let it stand for 5 minutes. The yeast should start to foam in the milk.  

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed beat together butter, sugar and the egg. Slowly add in the milk and yeast mixture. Mix in the flour and salt. Until just combined. 

Switch to a dough hook, and mix until a smooth dough forms (3-5 minutes).  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until double in sized. 

To create the filling, in a small bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until smooth. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into long rectangle roughly 15 by 9 inches. Evenly spread the butter and cinnamon mixture over the dough. From one of the long ends, roll the dough into a log, pinch the ends together to seal.  Cut into 12-15 rounds. Place cinnamon buns in pie plate or cake pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. *If you would like to bake the dough the next day, let rise overnight in the fridge. 

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake cinnamon rolls for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment over medium to high speed, beat together, butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in icing sugar and vanilla, beat until smooth. 

Top warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze. Enjoy! 

 For the Dough 

1 package yeast 

2/3 c warm milk 

1/2 c butter, at room temperature 

1/4 c sugar 

1 egg

3 c flour 

1/2 tsp salt

For the Filling 

1/4 c butter, at room temperature 

1/4 c brown sugar 

1 tbsp cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Glaze 

1/4 c butter, at room temperature 

4 oz cream cheese, softened 

1 1/2 c icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Simple and festive these White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies are the perfect addition to any Christmas cookie tray!

I am so excited to share these cookies with you! They are soft, dense and chewy! Basically everything you want in a sugar cookie. The crushed candy canes add a wonderful festive touch to these cookies - along with a delicious minty flavour that is delicious with the white chocolate chips in the batter. These cookies stay soft & chewy even days after baking - if they last that long! 

These candy cane cookies are one of those quick and easy recipes to add to your holiday baking arsenal. I love a classic sugar cookie - and I know I will be making dozens of them over the holiday. But there is something to be said about quick, easy and simple. No royal icing to mess around with but delicious buttery cookies you can eat straight from the oven. Plus crushing the candy canes for this recipe is a great holiday stress reliever! Ha.  I am sure Santa will appreciate one of these cookies (or two)! 

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies 

Makes: 1 dozen large cookies 

Ingredients 

1/2 c butter, at room temperature 

1 c sugar 

2 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 c flour 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 c white chocolate chips 

1/4 c candy canes, crushed 

Directions 

Line two baking trays with parchment paper, set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 

With the mixer on low, beat in the flour, salt and baking powder, until just combined. Do not over mix, the dough should just start to come together. Stir in the white chocolate and crushed candy cane.

Using approx. 1/4 c of dough, roll into a ball and place onto baking sheet, flatted with your hand. Bake 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are slightly browned. The cookies may still have a slight shine to their top when done. Do not over bake.