Lemon Pistachio Biscotti

Lemon icing adds a perfect complement to the nuttiness in this recipe for Lemon Pistachio Biscotti.

U.S. coffeehouses have long since turned biscotti - the twice-baked Italian cookie - into a household treat.

Do you enjoy eating pistachios but always wondered if there were any good uses for the leftover shells?

Actually, there are many handy uses for pistachio shells, here just a few: excellent for adding to the pots that hold your plants because they are firm and naturally allow for drainage; dry shells make excellent fire starters - in case you are short on paper or dried twigs; and if you're in the business of making baby rattles, they make good filling for the shakers.

When you are grating your lemon peel for this biscotti recipe, be sure to only grate the yellow part of the peel. The white part is known as pith and is quite bitter, so the less you include, the better the lemon flavor.

Lemon Pistachio Biscotti

Lemon Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsalted pistachio nuts (6 ounces)
1 recipe Lemon Icing

Position one oven rack in the center of oven. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking liner.
In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, baking powder and salt and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Beat in eggs and vanilla just until combined.
Beat in grated lemon peel and as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and pistachio nuts.
On lightly floured surface, divide dough into 3 equal portions and shape each portion into an 8-inch long loaf.
Flatten each loaf to about 2 1/2 inches wide.
Place loaves of dough on cookie sheet at least 3 inches apart.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and tops are cracked - your loaves should spread slightly.
Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 30 minutes.
Transfer loaves to cutting board and cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Places slices, cut side down, on same parchment-lined sheet and bake at 325F degrees for 8 minutes.
Turn slices over and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are dry and crisp.
Remove from oven and transfer biscotti to wire racks and cool completely.
Prepare Lemon Icing:
In a small mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel. Stir in enough milk or lemon juice (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make icing of drizzling consistency.
Dip ends into or drizzle lemon icing on biscotti cookies.

If you want to make these ahead of time, bake and cool the cookies as directed above, but do not dip or drizzle with icing. You can place your un-iced biscotti in freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to serve, remove cookies from freezer and thaw to room temperature. Dip cookies into or drizzle with lemon icing.

This recipe yields about 3 dozen Lemon Pistachio Biscotti.