Biscotti

I had promised Rajeev ( my hubby) that I will bake something for his office, huh it’s been 3 months since I made the promise. Finally I thought ,it’s holiday season and I’ll make something. Since I had to bake Shortbread cookies for Arjun( my son), I thought I’ll make one more batch of those. What else to make? Searching for more ideas I went to get some Almonds ( I was hungry, I need fuel to charge my brain). The jar in which the almonds were stored had a label for Biscotti. “Yes” that’s the second item I am going to make for my hubby’s office.
My mom and hubby always got these from Sam’s Club, hubby liked it for taste, while my mother loved it for two reasons, one is the taste and second is the jar ( yes she never failed to remind Rajeev to buy them)

Since it’s holiday season I made cranberry and almond biscotti, you avoid these and you will get the plain ones. It’s very similar to shortbread cookies in versatility. You can add almost anything to it and alter to your taste buds. To make it more rich, melt some semi sweet chocolate or white chocolate and dip them. It pairs well with tea or coffee.



Ingredients

· all-purpose flour- 2 cups
· baking powder -1 1/2 teaspoons
· sugar- 3/4 cup
· unsalted butter, room temperature -1/2 cup (1 stick)
· grated lemon zest ( i used pure vanilla essence)- 1 teaspoon
· salt- 1/4 teaspoon
· large eggs- 2
· almonds, coarsely chopped ( toasted) -3/4 cup
· dried cranberries- 2/3 cup
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest (or essence), and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the almonds and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick 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.

I am sending this to Cakes n Cookies hosted by Sara