The Botanical Kitchen

Recipes, travel and the occasional rant

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

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This is a mini canapé version of the Hazelnut and Coffee Biscotti recipe which I made at the London Chocolate Festival. It’s super simple so you can make it with the children.  I serve this with a hot chocolate dipping sauce.  Make the biscotti up in advance and the sauce takes minutes to make so it’s great at the end of a dinner party. You could even make some skewers of fruit to dip in addition to the biscotti.  The measures below make about 12.

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

You’ll need

For the biscotti
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 110g plain flour
  • 150g shelled pistachio nuts
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder. For home use I generally get Green and Blacks because it’s widely available in supermarkets.
For the dipping sauce
  • 375g tin of condensed milk
  • 150g dark chocolate – at least 80% cocoa – add more if you want to make it more chocolatey!

To make them

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and mark two 10cm lines evenly apart.
  3. Remove any rings because this is gonna get sticky!
  4. Chop the pistachios roughly in half. Not too small or you won’t get the nice bites through the biscotti.
  5. Whisk the egg and caster sugar in a large bowl until the texture is light and fluffy.
  6. Stir in the plain flour and cocoa powder and then add the pistachios.  You should have a sticky dough.
  7. Flour your hands and then split the dough into two portions in the bowl.
  8. Take one portion and shape it into a log approx 10cm long using the lines on your baking paper to help. It does not look pretty I know but it will taste good.
  9. Place the log onto the greaseproof paper
  10. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
  11. Bake the logs for approx 20-30 minutes. There should be a nice crust on the top.
  12. Take the baking tray out of the oven and let the logs cool completely.
  13. Once they are cool, using a sharp serrated knife, cut slices approximately 1 cm wide and then place the pieces back on the baking tray.
  14. Bake again for 5 minutes on each side to dry them out.
  15. When you are ready to serve, make the dipping sauce. Heat the condensed milk over a low flame or in the microwave until it’s just bubbling.  If it’s too hot, it will split when you add the chocolate.
  16. Break up the chocolate pieces and then add them to the condensed milk and stir until the chocolate is all melted through.

That’s it! Super easy eh?