Making your own biscotti, at home, is easier than you migh think. With this recipe, the dough has a subtle balance of citrus, a little bit of chew from dried cranberries and the crunch of almonds. If you want to go the extra mile, dip them in a little white or dark chocolate. I especially love these with a cup of my morning coffee-- but they also make great holiday gifts.
Course Brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Biscotti, Cranberry Almond Biscotti
Servings 12
Calories 430kcal
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net
Ingredients
2cupsall-purpose flour
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder
3/4cupsugar
1/2cupunsalted butter1-stick , , room temperature
1teaspoonlemon zestgrated (see notes)
1teaspoonorange zestgrated (see notes)
1/4teaspoonssalt
2large eggs
3/4cupsliced almonds or pistachios
1/2cupdried cranberries
12ouncesdark or white chocolatefor dipping (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using stand mixer (or a hand-held mixer), beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to mix, then add the lemon and orange zest until blended.
Add about 1/3 of the flour, on low speed.
Add the nuts and cranberries and then add more of the dry ingredients, a little at a time.
Form the dough into a long, wide log on the prepared baking sheet. (Wet hands makes this less sticky to do.)
Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes.
Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices.
Note: I found that cutting straight down, rather than sawing, made for less crumbs or broken slices.
Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet.
Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
Note:I baked mine at 325°F and turned them over after 7 minutes. My biscotti turned the way I prefer them to be—lightly golden, lightly crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. If you prefer yours to be hard and crunchy, bake at 350°F.
Dip in chocolate:
To make tempered chocolate, chop about 2 cups of the chocolate into pieces (or chocolate chip Morsels) and place 3/4 of it in a small glass bowl in a microwave for 20 seconds exactly.
Stir the chocolate and continue to microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth and shiny.
Add the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate and stir until smooth. The chocolate should register 87 to 89°F on a candy thermometer. (per Ina Garten).
Submerge half of the biscotti (rather than one end, so you can get chocolate in each bite) into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate.
Place the biscotti on the baking sheet (chocolate side up) for the chocolate to set.
Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. Or, in our case, eat them immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Note: Because I prefer a chewier texture on the inside, I under-baked mine by about 5 minutes. Cool only until you can touch it.Note: Instead of zest, I used 1/2 teaspoon of Flor Di Sicilia, a few drops of pure orange oil (not extract) and lemon oil, purchased online at King Arthur Flour. Loved it!Chocolate dip: This is definitely optional. Sometimes, I don't dip these in chocolate and love them just the same. Or, you could melt white chocolate for a different twist.