It seems that Small Boy has an allergy to certain nut varieties – “brain shaped” nuts to be more precise. We suspected it a few years back after a mild reaction to a walnut he had pinched from the top of a cake, then recently I made a pecan pie for some friends, and he tried one for the very first time (they are a bit “exotic” here so quite hard to find!) and had a pretty bad allergic reaction… He would however eat peanut butter out of jar if he could with no untoward results, and he loves chocolate brazils, almonds, cashews, macadamias and pretty much everything else. Having been told in no uncertain terms that he must not eat either walnuts or pecans, he now seems determined to work his way through every other variety to make up for it… Hence the glut of pistachios available in my kitchen – approved, “allergy tested” and discarded by his Lordship! I would be really interested to hear from anyone else with a “brain-shaped” nut allergy, especially if there’s something else we should keep an eye out for (interestingly enough, he did accidentally eat a cooked walnut and this seemed to have much less of an effect?!)…
So, in keeping with the Italian theme I seem to have going on at the moment, and to put these little green beauties to good use, what better than to include them in some biscotti, partnered with some delectable (what was supposed to be Easter) chocolate and some dried cherries?… Perfect alongside an early morning coffee in the Spring Sunshine…
Cherry, Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti (makes between 32-40)
250g Plain Flour;
250g Caster Sugar;
1.5 teaspoons baking powder;
2 eggs lightly beaten;
50g dried cherries;
50g dark chocolate;
30g pistachios;
pinch of lemon zest
Preheat your oven to 150C, and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Lightly toast the pistachios in a dry frying pan, and roughly chop the cherries and the chocolate. Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder, then slowly add the beaten eggs until it comes together as a dough (add a few drops of water if necessary!). Chuck in the chocolate, cherries the pistachios and the lemon zest and combine. Tip out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or so (to evenly spread the chocolate etc.) before cutting the dough into four and rolling into four long cylinders. Flatten the dough slightly so it measures about 6cm width wise and place onto the prepared tray. Do make sure you leave enough room in between – or you risk extra giant biscottis, which might not be a bad thing! Bake for 17-18 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice on the diagonal and place back on the baking tray. Bake again for a further 6-8 minutes before turning and baking for a final 6-8 minutes. And there you have it. Not only do they make the perfect dunking biscuit – they keep forever in a container too! Enjoy…
This look delicious! I looooove biscotti but always thought it was complicated to make. I’ll have to try these when I go home :)
Thank you! Let me know how you get on! :)
They look SO GOOD. They’re perfect! Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve pinned this post and have scheduled to tweet shortly :) Hope to see you linking up again soon! :D x
Thanks Emily! :) x
That’s a real pain about the nut allergy… but goodness me lady, you can cook…. can you send overseas? X
Do you know I think I could probably could send Biscotti, that would definitely last! :D Thank you. You are too kind xx
Oh how worrying! But mighty fine looking biscotti none the less…
Thanks Sarah! :) x
Mmmm these look utterly scrummey, Emma!
Thanks Sally! :) x
These look absolutely delicious. I might have to try them over Easter. I love pistachios.
You can add pretty much anything you like, thank you! :)
These look delicious! We love pistachios and chocolates so these are perfect. You make it seem easy here so I’m going to have to try it and hopefully they look as great as your pictures. It’s great that they last for a long time. Thanks for the recipe! Sorry, can’t help with the nut allergy.
I hope you like them, if I can make them, then anyone can! :)
oooh, these must be awesome! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks so much Elisa! :)
These look really yummy. I can’t help with the brain-shaped nut allergy, good luck finding out more about it.
Thanks Phoebe! :)
Chestnuts…. They were fine!
Yep, he seems fine with absolutely all nuts apart from walnuts and pecan nuts… odd, just odd! :) xx
Those look divine! Elinor x
Thanks Elinor, hope all is well! :) x
Oh My goodness! Sounds Yummy! I need some right now! :)
I could actually stick some in the post, you are not too far! :D Thanks Stacey! :)
This looks delicious! I didn’t know biscotti was that easy to make, I have to try to make it now. :)
It’s definitely not as hard as you think! Thanks Christine! :)
Mmmmm I can vouch for these – they are delicious. x
Ta Ma xxx
My son has a severe peanut allergy which we only discovered when he was a teenager. Can’t believe he had probably never had them before. We did all the tests too and he is fine with all other nuts (tree nuts), only peanuts (ground nuts). It’s such a worry, having to make sure he keeps an epipen with him so I sympathise.
There seems to be no problem with all other nuts, it’s just these particular two… Thankfully, with a swift dose of antihistamine it sorted him out, but I have appointments made to talk about it properly with the docs… Thank you xx
I popped over to see your Silent Sunday picture and stumbled on this first. Hungry now! Bookmarked for future reference!
Thanks so much Rosie! :)