Baking Biscotti

One of the things I like to bake for Christmas and also for other times of the year is Biscotti. It's great for gift giving and delicious to "dunk" into your favourite coffee or tea on a snowy winter day.  I made a batch last week and alas it was supposed to last till Christmas but looks like I need to make another batch!  Oh well, they are easy to make and I have all the ingredients on hand - so no excuses.  I want to share the recipe with you so here goes (please bear with me as I do this type of posting for the first time).  By the way, I've had complaints that you are not able to leave comments on my blog so I've changed a few settings - hopefully this will work now.  If not, I'll keep working at fixing the problem cause I would so love to hear from you.  Also, my pictures are all turning out sort of yellowish? I'll work on improving my photography a bit too :).

Have a great day all.  Tomorrow is the very last day of November and Movember ..... one more sleep till there are smooth upper lips (at least for some of you).

Biscotti

I like to fill my antique Blue Ribbon Coffee jar that I got from home with these yummy twice baked cookies!

4 Eggs

2 Tbsp. liqueur (brandy, cointreau, etc.)

2 Tbsp. vanilla

4 ½ Cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. salt

1 Cup Butter – softened

1 ½ Cups sugar

Wisk together the eggs, liqueur and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the egg mixture until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Divide cookie dough into 4 equal parts.

Add “flavours” to each individual dough, enough that there are lots of chunks (approx. ¾  to 1 Cup per dough) but not so much that the dough can’t hold together.  You can make them all the same or make 4 completely different kinds.

Suggested “flavour” combinations:

·       Pistachio, dried cranberries or cherries, white chocolate chunks and orange zest - this is the "Christmas Combo" I used

·       Orange zest, cinnamon, dried cranberries and toasted pecans

·       White and dark chocolate chunks with espresso beans and toasted whole almonds

·       Candied ginger, dried mango, toasted coconut and toasted macadamia nuts, white chocolate chunks and lime zest (this is my favourite and I sometimes use toasted almonds instead of macadamia nuts)

·       Any delicious combination that appeals to your taste buds – think some nuts, some citrus zest, some chocolate, and some dried fruit (approx. 4 Cups in total).

On two parchment lined baking sheets, shape the dough with flavours into 4 (12” X 2 1/2”) logs.  Place them 4 inches apart and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until firm and golden.  Let cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes.  

 Transfer baked rolls to a cutting board and slice diagonally into ½ inch thick slices using a serrated knife. 

Lay cookies flat on baking sheets and bake again for 25 minutes until golden brown on both sides (turn once during baking).

Biscotti can be dipped into melted dark or white chocolate if desired.  Try dipping them into white chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes for a more "Christmasy" flavour!  This recipe makes approx. 5 doz. cookies.