Lemon-Pistachio Biscotti

Check out the biscotti I made last night!

I never had biscotti growing up; I am pretty sure I had never even heard of it. But when a co-worker brought in some Lemon-Pistachio Biscotti to work a couple years ago, I happily tried them and really liked these twice-baked cookies! Since this co-worker is a good friend of mine, she gave me the recipe without too much pleading or begging. 😉

The lemon zest pairs so nicely with the pistachios, and the lemon frosting on top causes them to melt in your mouth!!

I personally think they made a great post-run snack this morning!! 😉

Lemon-Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all-purpose.)

4 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel

1-1/4 cups pistachio nuts

Lemon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Add enough milk and/or lemon juice to make icing drizzling consistency.

Directions

1. Grease cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high for 30 seconds; add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined.

3. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined

4. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer.

5. Stir in remaining flour and lemon peel.

6. Stir in nuts.

7. Divide dough into three equal portions. Shape portion into an 8-inch long roll. Place at least 3 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly until 2-1/2 inches thick.

8. Bake in 375* oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

9. Cool on sheet for 30 minutes.

10. Use serrated knife to cut each roll diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices cut side down on greased cookie sheet. Bake in 325* oven for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for another 8 minutes or until dry and crisp.

11. Make lemon icing and drizzle on top.

Workout

I was out the door this morning for my early morning run shortly after 5:30 a.m. Right now I am fighting a battle with myself on whether I want to get up and run early in the morning or do it in the afternoon. I am fully aware of the benefits on either end but can’t decide which way to go. I think I will try running in the afternoon next week and see how it goes.

Usually I only do about 5 miles on Thursdays, but I was feeling good, so I tacked on another 2 miles and finished right under one hour.

Breakfast

This morning’s breakfast was a bowl of old-fashioned oats and a new add-in: bulgar! I saw another blogger use bulgar in their oatmeal, so I got some from the bulk foods section at the grocery store and added 2 Tablespoons to my old-fashioned oats this morning.

Now to be honest, I am not sure I could tell the difference. I think the oats were more creamy than when I don’t use bulgar. Although, I do want to try adding bulgar again–maybe in a large quantity–to see what difference it would make.

I did add some Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chickpeas to my oatmeal for extra protein, but I didn’t really dig it. I think it was more of a texture thing than anything because the chickpeas do have a sweet, cinnamon flavor to them. The smooth texture of the oatmeal was kind of ruined with the texture of the chickpeas. Oh well.

Lunch

At work today we had a potluck for a staff member who is moving out of state. (Which is why I made the biscotti last night.) I heart potlucks. I love all the variety there is!!

I made sure to pile as much food as I could on my plate and sample as many different things possible. There were a lot of good options: fresh veggies, pasta salad with salmon, black bean dishes, a quinoa dish, and fresh nectarines! I love all the color!

Tonight I’m headed over to a friend’s house for dinner.