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Wonderfully delicious, lemon scented Amarena Wild Cherry Biscotti. A twice baked biscotti with a scattering of roasted salted pistachios are complimented with slivers of wild cherries bottled in syrup.
A little About Amarena Cherries
This is not a sponsored post but rather a product I enjoy very much!
For a truly memorable Italian experience, do try at least once the authentic Italian amarena cherry.
They are small, dark wild cherries which grow in the Bologna and Modena regions of Italy. Although somewhat bitter they have an incredibly deep cherry flavour.
These luscious cherries are bottled in syrup, masking their bitterness and making them perfect for home baking. They’re also equally wonderful for decorating desserts or garnishing drinks.
But really you can just as easily nibble on them whenever a craving hits for these bitter sweet jewels.
You can purchase these syrup soaked cherries at most Italian specialty shops or simply online.
Back To The Recipe
I fell in love with these cherries at first taste and I absolutely had too bake a batch of biscotti! They’re my go to treat whenever I’m craving a quick nibble to serve with coffee or tea.
As a switch up from the more standard almond and orange biscotti I usually bake, I chose pistachios to compliment the cherries. I also added the zest of a lemon to infuse a lovely citrus scent to the biscotti dough.
I baked the logs for 25 minutes, just until they are golden brown with a soft but firm touch.
After the initial first bake you’ll want them to cool for about 10 minutes. This will make slicing much easier and then you simply re-bake for an additional 15 minutes to allow them to crisp up.
They come out of the oven with a dark golden hue. They’re so irresistible that you’ll be biting into them before they even cool off!
You’ll find that they’re perfectly dunkable in your favourite hot beverage! They’re also quite tooth friendly and easily enjoyable simply as they are!
Enjoy the biscotti and happy baking my friends!
If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!
Amarena Wild Cherry Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2/3 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped (I used roasted and salted pistachios)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup butter (melted)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- lemon zest (from 1 small lemon)
- 3/4 cup amarena wild cherries (drained and chopped)
- 1 beaten egg white (for brushing over biscotti)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the flour, baking powder and pistachios in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Fold in the chopped Amarena cherries.
- Divide the biscotti dough in half.
- Dust your hands and work surface with flour and roll 1 portion at a time into a 12 inch log.
- Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the biscotti logs with the beaten egg white.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the biscotti logs, one at a time, to a cutting board and slice diagonally to about 3/4 inch pieces.
- Repeat with the remaining log.
- Return the sliced biscotti to the baking sheet, stand them upright and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove the biscotti from the oven, allow to cool and enjoy with your favourite hot beverage.
This is fabulous. I usually used dried fruit in my biscotti – I’ve never thought to use these! I can’t wait to use this recipe Marisa!
I actually much prefer these because sometimes dried fruits harden during baking. The jarred amarena remain tender with such a lovely burst of flavour when you bite into them. Hope you get to try them Mimi!
Oh, I will!
A delish wish!
Biscotti are hands down my favourite cookie…thanks so much!
Biscotti are my favorite cookie too, but I’ve never made them with amarena cherries. I can’t wait to get some and get baking!
They’re simply amazing all on their own and quite lovely in baked goods! Do try them Linda, they’re so worth the extra splurge!
I will have to look for these amarena cherries, Marisa. Your Amarena Wild Cherry biscotti sounds wonderful – this cookie variety is always a favourite in this household. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely recipe.
Denise you’ll most likely find them at Italian specialty shops but then again you can just about find anything online these days! Biscotti are also our favourite and never last long at our house!
I don’t think I’ve ever tried amarena cherries, but they look absolutely perfect in this biscotti! It’s also been a long time since I’ve made biscotti. This recipe definitely has me craving it!
I have a soft spot for tender biscotti but not the rock hard variety and bake them quite often! It’s quite fun mixing and matching different flavours and they’re yummy dunkers!
Thank you for your recipe made them and my family loves them with the cherries delis flavour will make again and again
How wonderful to hear that Anna and thanks so much for your feedback! I so appreciate it!
Made these for Thanksgiving and they are so,so good! I added in chopped dark chocolate in place of pistachios and they are a treat. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Maddy I’m so happy to hear that! The addition of dark chocolate sounds fabulous and your most welcome!
I made your biscotti today, they came out great! And my wife said they’re the best she’s ever had. They’ll go perfect with her daily afternoon tea. I look forward to exploring more of your recipes.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and you’re wife is lucky to have such a great baker in you! Thanks so much for commenting Jay and have fun exploring!
These sound absolutely delicious! I’d like to also add some chocolate in the mix, as a request from my mom. Any idea what quantity would work for this recipe?
Hi Stephanie, half a cup to 2/3 of a cup should work well! Enjoy!
Loved this biscotti recipe. Agree with the reviewer that says dried fruit often gets hard when baked into a biscotti. The only change I made was to use orange zest (peeled orange with Y peeler and then minced) for the lemon zest. So happy to have found this new use for those lovely Amarena cherries!!
I am a fan of amarena cherries as well Mary Beth. Orange zest and cherries make a great combo, I’ll need to try it next time and I’m happy to hear you love this recipe; thanks so much for commenting.
These came out great, will use a glaze to finish them. I reserved the juice to use in seltzer or Prosecco!
Karen
What a wonderful idea using the juice in Prosecco! Glad you’re enjoying them too and thanks for commenting Karen!
Biscotti have always been one of my favorite cookies. I just made these today with the Amarena cherries, these cherries take this wonderful cookie to a whole new level. Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so happy to hear this Paula…this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for commenting!
For the second baking (after slicing), the recipe is a little ambiguous on the orientation for baking them. Are they placed sliced-surface up, or in the same orientation as when baked as a log. Thanks!
Hi Dave, what I mean by “standing upright” is the same orientation when you are slicing them. As a preference, I don’t lay them cut side down. This way they dry out evenly. I hope this helps.
These came out fabulously.And they were quick. I love that they are crunchy and tender at the same time. I hate those hard as rock biscotti .I added 1-tsp. each of almond and vanilla extract. The almond really came across and was a nice addition. I also added more zest . I made these as a hostess gift and I’m sure I’ll be making them again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Brenda. They’re a keeper.
These are really delicious. I made them today for the first time and the recipe is going into my “keepers” file. The amount of fruit and nuts is perfect, the bake times were spot on, and the end result was fabulous.
Because I like a less sweet cookie (and the cherries are super sweet) I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup, and subbed a smidge of almond extract for a bit of the vanilla. No other changes.
I found this recipe after buying a giant jar of Amarena cherries on a whim at Costco, then getting home and thinking “now what?” I just happened to have a sack of pistachios in the pantry, too. It was meant to be.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Kalia! They’re one of my absolute favourites.