Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Ah, coffee's best friend, biscotti! Traditionally biscotti is a rock hard cookie meant to be soaked in coffee before munching. This particular biscotti recipe would be considered more "American." It still has a delightful crunch, but there is no need to soften the breakfast cookie in coffee unless of course you want to. I just love the flavor combination of this recipe. The zest of the orange, the tartness of the cranberry and the sweetness of the chocolate has great mouth appeal. Believe it, this recipe is not hard to make!

CRANBERRY ORANGE BISCOTTI:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspooon of orange zest

2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup of sliced almonds

2/3 cup of dried cranberries

4 ounces of dark chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer or using a hand beater, cream together the butter and sugar for about four minutes. Meanwhile, gather the rest of your ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add the cranberries and almonds in another bowl.

Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and add one egg at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the orange zest and beat for another 30 seconds.

Dump in the flour concoction and mix just until blended. Fold in the cranberries and almonds.

As soon as the cranberries and almonds have been incorporated, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a one foot horizontal line on the parchment with a permanent marker. Draw a three inch vertical line on the short end of the parchment. Dump the dough onto the parchment. Pat the dough into an even rectangle to match the measurements that you drew.

Bake for about 40 minutes until light golden in color. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Don't turn the oven off! Biscotti means "twice baked."

Remove the biscotti from the pan and line the baking sheet with another piece of parchment paper. Cut the biscotti into 1/2 inch slices using a serated knife. Place the cookies cut side down onto the parchment paper. You should yield about 24 cookies.

Bake the cookies again for 15 minutes. Place the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Time for the chocolate!

In a small saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, top with a heat proof bowl filled with the chocolate. Stir until melted.

Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled biscotti. Let the chocolate harden on the counter or in the refrigerator for about ten minutes. Store in a tightly sealed container for 4 days.