It's Christmastime and the air is filled with the sweet smell of cookies, cakes, brownies and all other yummy baked goodies. I have always liked the visual appeal of cranberries and pistachios together and now is the right time to use it again. I have tried this combination in my cranberry pistachio bread before. So I was excited when I found this biscotti recipe.
The original recipe by itself was vegan but I have made some more changes. I was tempted to use just whole wheat flour but I remembered that I did not like the nutty flavor of whole wheat flour in this eggless almond biscotti recipe. So I went with part whole wheat flour and part all-purpose flour. This one turned out good. I guess the flavor depends upon the type of whole wheat flour you use.
Lately I have been using the whole wheat flour from Indian grocery store. This one is not as robust as the whole wheat flour we get in the baking aisle of other grocery stores. It is still 100% wheat flour but made from soft wheat I guess, like whole wheat pastry flour. The biscottis turned out delicious. The sweetness was just perfect and the orange zest gave a nice flavor. Don't forget to check the Substitutions and My Notes section before trying the recipe for tips and suggestions.
The addition of orange zest and orange juice gives this vegan biscotti recipe a good flavor and if you are a fan of citrus in baked treats then don't forget to bake these orange cookies!
If you tried this Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
Ingredients Part 1:
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and ¼ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3-5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (if needed)
Ingredients Part 2:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup almond milk/orange juice
- 5 Tablespoons orange juice
- 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients Part 3:
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup pistachios
- 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
Substitutions:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix together the 5 tablespoons of orange juice and cornstarch to form a paste; set aside.
- In a medium bowl sift together the ingredients listed in Part 1 except the last 3-5 Tablespoons of flour.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and ½ cup almond milk for about 3 minutes. Then add the cornstarch paste, oil and vanilla extract; beat for another 3 minutes.
- Fold in the flour into the creamed mixture. Stir in the cranberries and pistachios too. I felt that the dough was sticky at this stage. I was not able to form it into a ball and divide it. So I started adding all-purpose flour a tablespoon at a time, until I found the consistency right. I had to add up to 4 Tablespoons.
- Now divide the dough into equal halves. Form each ball into a log about 12 inches long and about 3 inches wide, directly on the baking sheet itself. This log does look very thin. Repeat it for the other half and now you have two logs of dough. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top of each log. (See My Notes)
- Bake it for 35 minutes. Once done remove it and cool the baked logs for at least 15 minutes.
- Then slice the logs in one single cut using a serrated knife. Do not using a sawing motion, it will crumble the biscottis. You will get about 21 slices from each log.
- Place these slices on a baking sheet and bake for another 20 minutes. The original recipe did not mention to flip over the biscottis half way but I did it anyway to ensure even baking on either sides. So I baked each side for 10 minutes.
- Once again cool the slices on a wire rack and then store it in an air-tight container.
My Notes
- I have used part all-purpose flour and part whole wheat flour for the 2 and ¾ cups of all-purpose flour mentioned in the original recipe. I did not find much of a difference in the taste because of the whole wheat flour.
- The recipe called for 5 tablespoons + ½ cup of orange juice. I just had a small orange. So I used the 5 tablespoons to mix with the cornstarch and almond milk for the remaining ½ cup of orange juice.
- I used coarsely chopped pistachios in place of almonds in the original recipe. Only after tasting the biscotti I realized that I should have used whole pistachios instead because I couldn't taste/feel the nuts.
- To make it even more "Christmassy" add some white chocolate chips and you have the red, green and white colors all in one.
- I forgot to sprinkle the sugar on top of the dough logs before putting it into the oven. So initially I felt that the biscottis were not sweet enough but when I tasted it the next day I felt that the sweetness was just right.
- If you prefer extra long biscottis like the ones you get in Costco and other stores, you would have to use the entire dough to make one log and rest of the procedure remains the same.
Olivia says
I’ve made this twice and am about to make it again! How far in advance can I make the dough, and should I keep in in the refrigerator or freezer?
Madhuram says
Thanks, Olivia. Even though I haven't made the dough in advance, I'm guessing that it should keep well for about a week in the fridge and 1-2 months in the freezer.
Ruchika Saraogi says
This turned out very yummy ! Although I got a wide crack in the log ! Hence faced a little difficulty in cutting the pieces ! Is it supposed to crack ? What went wrong ?
Madhuram says
Usually, it does crack a bit on the top. Do you think you baked a bit too much or the oven temperature was on the higher side?
Sam says
Hi. How long can this be stored? And how should it be stored?
Madhuram says
After gifting some to friends the balance in my house was finished off in 3-4 days. It can be stored in an airtight container.
Reena Andavarapu says
Lovely receipe. I've made walnut bicottis previously. Turned out very well. Here in this receipe can I use apple cider vinegar to mix with the cornstarch or should I use milk? Any other substitute for orange juice. I have read else where rum can be used. If yes then how much?
Madhuram says
Thanks Reena. Apple cider vinegar is used in vegan baking to give a rise and fluffiness to the baked treats, which is not required for biscottis. So ACV should not be used and it will not work either. If you can't use milk or orange juice I guess you can just go with plain water. I have not baked with rum so not sure how it works.
Dorothy says
Thank you for this recipe, had to make something Vegan to take to a potluck. the Biscotti taste great. I also loved how you originze the list.I will be making more for the holidays.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Dorothy.
richa says
they turned out yumm but only problem was during cutting the log, for me it crumbled n could not get perfect shape.. plz help if any trick is there, though i followed the recipe as it is.
Madhuram says
Maybe you should have given it more time before you can cut it or maybe you over baked it.
Harriet says
AFTER REMOVING BAKED BISCOTTI LOGS I SPRAY LIGHTLY WITH WATER THIS HELPS CUTTING WITHOUT BISCOTTI CRUMBLING .
Madhuram says
Oh really! I was not aware of that. Will try it the next time. Thank you very much for the tip.
Larissa says
Loved these. The only change is I put pumpkin seeds instead of pistachios because this is what I had on hand. Not too sweet, crunchy (definitely a dunker). A keeper!
Zm says
Great recipe.....turned out better than the store bought ones....a few slight changes.....used coconut milk instead of Orange juice.....used 2 tablespoons butter instead of oil....left it in oven (during 2nd bake) to toast for 20~30 minutes and used a pizza pan with holes to toast evenly but still turned biscotti halfway during second bake to make sure both sides toasted evenly.
Madhuram says
Thanks Zm.
Sandhya says
I plan to try this , just wondering what is the role of cornstarch in this recipe? Can we substitute rice flour or may be skip it altogether. Let me know I would love to try it.. I love the idea of combining pista and cranberry!
Thanks
Madhuram says
I guess it's used as a binding agent. Usually cornstarch, arrowroot flour or tapioca flour is used in egg free baking recipes and I think there's a reason for it. I haven't seen a recipe or tried one with rice flour, so I wouldn't know exactly if it works or not. Sorry Sandhya.
Vijoo says
These biscotti came out very well. I loved the recipe!
Madhuram says
I guess you are in a baking spree, Vijoo. Thanks for trying out the recipes and for the feedback.
maha says
Perfectly done and beautiful looking.
Hetal says
Made these tonight and followed the recipe exactly as written... They came out perfect! Amazing taste and texture! Loved that there is very little oil and NO eggs! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Madhuram says
You're welcome Hetal.
usha singh says
this looks wonderful will have to try it out ASAP
Spandana says
They look perfect.. Love the flavors. They must be tasting wonderful.
Jayasri says
Totally awesome Madhu, love it, I baked eggless ones long before, funnily forgot what I was doing, flattened it a bit more and looked more like a biscuit, I was trying a egg one to an eggless one!, this is definitely a must try one as it is vegan, beautiful done ..