cranberry-almond biscotti

Friends, I am once again in love with a new cookie. A biscotti, to be exact. Cranberry-almond biscotti. I recently found this recipe in an old, worn out issue of Food & Wine magazine and couldn’t wait to try it. Because, while every other woman in the civilized world is fawning over pumpkin this and pumpkin that, I’m just not that grooved by it. I have maybe two pumpkin recipes in the whole universe that I like enough to bake myself, and that’s it. But cranberry-almond? Whisper it to me. Press it into my arms. Leave it in small, neatly wrapped packages where I will least expect it. I looooooove anything cranberry-almond, and I don’t care who knows it. Anyway.

The word biscotti actually means twice-cooked in Italian. It’s interchangeable for cantuccini, or coffee-bread. Perfect! Because really good, dense, stale biscotti tastes amazing soaked in hot coffee. So good. People also dunk it in sweet wine for an elegant, late night dessert. Apparently biscotti is meant to have nuts in it, particularly almonds. So for me this makes life worth living.

I’ve toyed around with double-baking regular cookie recipes before, like chocolate chip, and it turns out okay. But really without the almonds it’s just not the same. It lacks the important crunch. Also, the dough recipe here has far less sugar and butter than standard cookie recipes. It seems like a great base to play with later. Exciting!

Okay. The ingredients here are simple. I only needed to buy one new item, almond extract, and it promises to be useful all winter long. Totally worth a few bucks.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (see what  mean?)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped (1 baggie…I used the slivered ones)

Method:

1. Melt the butter to browned stage and remove to a cup so it can cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. In one largeish bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar at medium speed for a few minutes until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add to this the butter and almond extract. Inhale the perfumy goodness. Pour the smooth egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon till well combined. Now stir in the almonds and dried cranberries. (By the way, aren’t these delish? Way better than raisins. Yum.)

3. Flour your hands a bit then mash up the dough really well, massage it into a consistent ball and divide into two logs. Shape them to about ten inches long, flatten them, and arrange parallel to each other on the parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, to golden color. Allow to cool slightly. 

4. When slightly cool, use a sharp serrated knife to slice logs on the diagonal into half-inch slices. Turn these slices on their sides, cut sides down, and bake once more for about 10 minutes. Now let them cool completely.

5. With great anticipation, plan which hot beverage you will use to soften these treasures before placing them on your grateful tongue. I strongly recommend French roast coffee with heavy cream, no sugar. 

Okay, have I tempted you to try this? If you’re not a fan of dried cranberries, then just sub in chunks of dark chocolate. Or maybe trade slivered almonds for pistachios? How else could be dress up this twice-baked adventure? I am pretty excited to play around with it.

Now please excuse me while I dunk one more slice of this manna straight from heaven into my last mug of perfect coffee for the day. We are huddled up at the farm, waiting for the season’s first snowfall.

How are you spending your Sunday? What new cookies have you tried lately? Do you agree with my distaste for most things pumpkin, or am I the weird one here?

Feed your body, feed your soul.
XOXOXOXO