Pistachio and Dried-Cherry Biscotti

I love having a little carb-a-holic in the house. Mr. Prevention, that is. There are times I will (happily, I should add) spend upwards of 2 hours prepping for and cooking a meal that receives a, “It’s fine”.

It’s fine? Well, just…great. I mean, fine? C’mon, Mr. Prevention. Come up with a new adjective because “fine” just doesn’t fly any longer. I’m pretty sure “fine” is the last adjective I want used to describe my cooking.

But things like biscotti, or bread, or cookies, or doughnuts…the man will inhale. With each passing through the kitchen, or refill of a water glass, there is less carbohydrate leftovers. I love this because 1) who doesn’t love to feed people foods they love and 2) there’s less goodies laying around to deter me from weight loss efforts! This works for us, it’s mutually beneficial, you see.

And these biscotti were not spared in the tracks of Mr. Prevention’s carbaholism (new diagnosis, per me). When I got to page 114 in May’s issue of Bon Appetit, there was no contest. This recipe would be made, and it wouldn’t get put off for very long. 😉 After apricots, cherries are my favorite dried fruit and I don’t think I can choose between walnuts and pistachios – they’re both my favorites!

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Pistachio and Dried-Cherry Biscotti lightened up from Bon Appetit

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. orange zest
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2/3 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine first 6 ingredients (through salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and next 5 ingredients (eggs through almond extract). Add egg mixture to flour mixture; beat on low speed until combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Fold in cherries and pistachios.

Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet and shape each dough half into a 16-inch long log. Space logs about 5 inches apart. Flatten each log into a 2-inch wide strip. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until browned and set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 250 F.

Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer biscotti to a work surface. Using a serrated knife, cut each strip diagonally into 2/3-inch thick slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on baking sheets.

Bake biscotti, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until crisp, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; let cool. Yield: 44 biscotti.

Nutrition Information (per biscotti): 66 calories; 2 g. fat; 10 mg. cholesterol; 55 mg. sodium; 11 g. carbohydrate; 0.3 g. fiber; 1.3 g. protein

Result: Salty, sweet, and the perfect treat to go with morning coffee. I enjoyed these as a snack mid-morning, as well. For a mere 66 calories, they were the perfect get-me-through til lunch 🙂 I also love biscotti because they stay good for so long — upwards of a week at room temperature. Enjoy!

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I hope everyone survived Friday the 13th unscathed. Yesterday was bizarre on the workout front, but other than that the day gets a thumbs up from me! My run yesterday…I was dreading. I practically fell asleep on the living room floor before 6pm, literally. I took Lily on a walk, dropped her off at home to recuperate (it was hot!) and then I was off. I had decided to do a walk/run combo, but it ended up being a 3 1/2 mile slow jog. I listened to my body, and it was happy to jog the whole way, but it was more of an 11 min/mile pace, which I was okay with. Hey, any workout on a Friday evening is a victory in my book. Strangely, and consistent with my pace, I kept playing slower songs on my iPod. Normally, I’m skipping through most songs just to find a really upbeat song to keep my legs moving. It was a great, relaxing run. I haven’t been able to say that in awhile, so I was really pleased. I ended the evening with a shower, a good book, and some dry red wine out on our deck…that really can’t be beat after a long work week!

Today is weigh-in (no idea what to expect, but I’ve been good!) and Lily and I will head to the dog park at some point. I am also planning to purchase my tomato plants and herbs this weekend and get those into the ground. And of course, plenty of kitchen detail — cooking and cleaning 🙂 I think the farmer’s market is opening today, too…have to check it out!

Question: What’s your favorite dried fruit?

Happy Saturday!