Cherry and Pistachio Biscotti

I made this biscotti and wanted to share it with you all. The original recipe was in Bon Appetit Magazine. It called for oatmeal and vegetable oil, which I changed to polenta and olive oil. This is really a great biscotti and very easy to make.

Dried Cherry, Pistachio and Polenta Biscotti

Ingredients

·         1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

·         1 cup sugar

·         1/2 cup uncooked polenta (coarse grain is best)

·         1 tsp. baking powder

·         1/2 tsp. baking soda

·         1/2 tsp. kosher salt

·         2 large eggs

·         3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

·         1 Tbsp. orange zest

·         2 tsp. lemon zest

·         1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1/2 tsp. almond extract

·         1 cup dried cherries

·         1 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

Method

·         Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine first 6 ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and next 5 ingredients. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; beat on low speed until combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Fold in cherries and pistachios.

·         Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into a 16"-long log. Brush off excess flour; transfer logs to prepared sheet, spaced 5" apart. Flatten each log into a 2"-wide strip. 
Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until browned and set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 250° and arrange 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third.

·         Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer biscotti to a work surface. Using a serrated knife, cut each strip diagonally into 2/3"-thick slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on baking sheets.

·         Bake biscotti, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until crisp, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; let cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.