Been baking

We've had some glorious Spring weather these last few days.  Today, in particular, was a scorcher, topped off by a nice little thunderstorm this afternoon.  So what do you do on these toasty, almost-Summer days? Well, according to Katheirne, we were baking today.  It wouldn't have been my choice to stay inside with the oven blaring, but it was probably still cooler inside than say, going out to the park.

We made Anzac biscuits, date loaf and biscotti.  I'm going to share the biscotti recipe, because it's something that is dead easy to make, is delicious, looks a little bit fancy, and let's face it - is probably a whole lot healthier than the other two.

Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup pistachio kernels (unsalted)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup plain flour

Method:

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  

Add sugar and continue beating until dissolved.  The mixture will be thick and glossy.

Fold in pistachios, cranberries and flour until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake at 180C for approx 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, and when cool enough turn the loaf out onto a board.

Slice thinly with a very sharp knife - the sharper your knife, the better the result (I use a very sharp bread knife, but I have heard electric knives are great also).  

Place slices in a single layer on a baking tray and return to the oven for around 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and just starting to turn golden.  You might want to turn your oven down slightly for the second bake if you have a very hot oven - mine burns everything. 

Allow to cool and then enjoy with a cuppa.

Biscuits will keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container.

I love making these at Christmas time with a little cinnamon and orange peel in the mixture.  It also makes a great little Christmas gift (for teachers, neighbours, workmates etc) if you package it up nicely in some cellophane bags with a bit of Christmas ribbon.