Name: Apricot Pine Nut & Honey Biscotti
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 34 min
Total time: 64 min
Yield: 24 biscotti
Ingredients: For the Biscotti; 2 cups flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup vegetable oil; ½ cup sugar; ½ cup honey; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest; 1½ teaspoons Mary's Cognac Barrel Aged Pure Vanilla Extract; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (optional); 1½ cups pine nuts, lightly toasted; ½ cup dried apricots, diced; 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted; 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, as needed

Sweets

Apricot Pine Nut & Honey Biscotti

Author: Mary DiSomma

I baked all the time when my kids were growing up. I never stopped completely, but I definitely slowed down when they moved out. If I ate that amount of cookies all by myself, I might be in trouble! But one day a few years back, I got the bug to perfect my biscotti, and my love for baking was rekindled and led to Mary's Delishes. That’s why I often say, “blame it on biscotti.” This biscotti recipe with apricots, pine nuts, and honey was included in my first cookbook, A Gift of Cookies. In my mind, this traditional biscotti recipe is a two-for-one because it’s delicious and it smells sooo good. The aroma alone is enough to put you in an amazing mood! Fresh, herbaceous, rosemary, bright citrus zest, toasty pine nuts… Oh, let’s just start cooking already!

Ingredient Tips

Biscotti are a type of cookie, but the approach is a bit different. Biscotti are first baked into a loaf, sliced like bread, then baked a second time as individual pieces. This process draws out moisture, making them the perfect dunkable “cookie” because they’re crunchy and have a long shelf life. You can store biscotti in an airtight container for up to three weeks without refrigeration. Of course, that’s if they last that long!

Preparation + Preservation Tips

My number one tip for making biscotti at home is to be careful not to over-bake them! I like to keep an eye on mine, and I will check on them 5 minutes before the baking time is up, just in case. Factors like humidity can affect your baking too, after all. Because this recipe has honey in it, it tends to brown more quickly than sugar. I highly recommend keeping an eye on your biscotti too!

To avoid cracks on the top of the biscotti loaves, cover them with dish towels after removing them from the oven, as this allows them to cool at a more leisurely pace.

Biscotti are known for being extra hard. That’s because they’re baked twice. The dough is formed into logs and baked at a low temperature until they’re about the consistency and texture of a sugar cookie. They’re then slightly cooled and sliced before being baked a second time to dry them out completely.
They’re perfect for dunking just like that, but while some recipes use butter and others don’t use any fat, for my biscotti recipe, I like to use olive oil to make the biscotti crisp and tender.