Easter and choir practice had me busy last week, but I am back sharing a recipe for one of my favorite cookies, Italian biscotti. I love biscotti, because they are not overly sweet and their crispy texture makes them especially good. It’s been cold in Chicago this week. We even had a little snow today some coffee and baking seemed like a good idea. Well coffee to me is good anytime, but biscotti makes coffee even better.
We had some extra dried cherries from a recipe I made for Easter, so I decided that it might be fun to make some cherry biscotti. I tested a few flavor combinations, but my favorite was cherry and almonds with a little orange zest. You could leave out the almonds if you have a nut allergy and substitute mini chocolate chips instead.
Cherry Almond Biscotti (Makes 16 cookies)
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl mix together your flour, almonds, cherries, orange zest, sugar and baking powder.
Next add in your water, vanilla and egg and mix them together until well blended. The mixture will be slightly crumbly at first, but it will come together. Then turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it just lightly. Then shape it into a 12 inch roll.
Then use your hand to flatten that roll to a 1 inch thickness.
Then place your biscotti roll on a baking stone or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Bake the biscotti roll for 30 minutes. Then take it out and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
Now you are ready to slice your cookies and bake them a second time to give them that signature crispy texture.
Slice your biscotti roll at a diagonal into 1/2 inch slices using a serrated knife. Note if you add chocolate wipe your knife clean between each cut to keep your cookies looking pretty.
Then place your cookies cut side down on your baking stone or baking pan and bake them at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. The cookies will have a crispy edge with a softer center, but they will become a crisp as they cool completely.
My husband came home and was loving these biscotti (in between bites he may have said they were his favorite biscotti ever), so I think this flavor combination is a winner in our house. 
The other great thing about biscotti is they are lighter than your typical cookie since they don’t have butter. So if you are looking for a sweet and slightly healthier treat then give these biscotti a try.
