Sometimes I think the only reason I have cable is to watch the Food Network. All weekend long I have the TV on as I do my cooking and cleaning. Ina Garten, Laura Calder and Bobby Flay are like the soundtrack to my weekend.

I’m not a huge fan of competition shows in general but one of my favourite cooking shows is Top Chef, which in Canada airs on Food Network Canada a few weeks after it begins in the United States. I love watching chefs come up with incredible (and sometimes terrible) meals, and seeing their creativity grow each week. I would also love to know the truth about the pea puree. Unfortunately, I got my December issue of Food and Wine before the finale aired in Canada, so despite all my efforts to live in a bubble, I knew who was going to win.

All this to say these cookies are from Food and Wine’s feature of Kevin Sbraga. The cookies all looked delicious, but I decided the first one I had to try was the chocolate biscotti. My dad makes biscotti every Christmas, but I had never made them myself. The batter is just as easy to put together as a sugar cookie. The only real difference is the baking process. First the cookies are baked as a log, the log is then sliced and the pieces are baked again until they dry out.

These biscotti were very tasty. The chocolate and pistachio go together very well, but to be honest with you, I prefer my dads. Just because.

I’ll be submitting these cookies to Cream Puffs In Venice for Magazine Mondays. Magazine Mondays are a weekly event designed to help us get through those stacks of magazine recipes we’ve put aside to make “one day.”

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

From the December 2010 issue of Food and Wine

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups raw pistachios
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• Melted bittersweet chocolate, for dipping or drizzling

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and rum beating until well combined.
3. In separate bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and cinnamon.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Beat in the pistachios.
5. Divide the dough in two, shape each half into a log. Brush the logs with the egg whites. Bake for 25 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut the logs into slices, return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the cookies have dried out. Let cool completely. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

Enjoy!