Cherry Almond Biscotti

It's become a holiday tradition to get together with my brother to bake cookies. We tend to stick to the basics: chocolate chips and snickerdoodles. And while those are both delicious, I like a bit more variety. Sometimes I insist on making oatmeal cookies, and every once in a while I like to bake biscotti.

Because biscotti need a double baking to attain that special crispness that is so perfect when dunked in a cup of hot coffee or tea, they seem like they are extra work. But they're really not. The dough first bakes in large loaves; that's where they do their rising. Once those loaves are sliced up, you can crowd baking sheets with as many cookies as will fit, as they won't get any bigger. The second baking is merely to dry them out and make them crisp. But while they only require two trips in the oven, each baking takes a bit of time and there are two oven temperatures, so don't bake these at the same time you are attempting to make chocolate chippers.

This recipe makes 40 or so cookies, depending on how anal-retentive you are with cutting them to exactly 1/3" inch wide.

Cherry Almond Biscotti (adapted from Epicurious.com)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, oats, baking powder and soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Blend for a few seconds to combine. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla, and two tablespoons of heavy cream and mix on medium speed until dough comes together. If the dough still seems dry, add the other tablespoon of cream. Fold in the cherries and almonds.

Using floured hands, shape the dough into two logs, about 16" long. Place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet about 5" apart. Flatten each log to about 2" wide. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the sheet, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 10 minutes.

Reduce oven to 250°F. Line a second baking sheet with parchment. Slice the logs into 1/3" thick slices. Arrange them, cut side down, on the two baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the sheets and bake an additional 20 minutes, until cookies are crisp. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
 

Posted on Minxeats.com.