Books, Tea, and Biscuits

Now that the cooler weather has started to make an appearance in my area, I've started drinking hot tea again in the evenings. The problem with doing so is that I always like to have a hard type cookie or two with the tea. One of my favorite types of hard cookie is biscotti. Here's one of my favorite recipes:

Lemon -Pistachio Biscotti

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons lemon zest
1 1/4 cups pistachios

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two cookie sheets and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds at medium to high speed. Add the next 3 ingredients (sugar, salt, and baking powder). Beat until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined. Gradually add the flour, mixing by hand. Stir in the lemon peel and nuts.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each part into an 8 inch long roll. Place on prepared cookie sheets and flatten slightly until the rolls are about 2 1/2 inches wide. If putting two rolls on a single cookie sheet, place them at least 3 inches apart.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and the tops are cracked. Cool on the pans for at least 30 minutes. Once cool, using a serrated knife, cut each roll diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Place cut sides down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes approximately 36 cookies.

I have made these without the nuts and using other types of nuts as well.

The cookies are great with a cup of hot lemon tea while reading a good book. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.