Cranberry Biscotti
I hope you are not getting tired of my cranberry obsession but I found a cup left of home dried ones and after sampling the chocolate biscotti from Dorie Greenspan, I decided to go for the first recipe I had noticed: her Lenox Biscotti. We are not getting tired of the mighty berry yet but that reminds me if a time where the executive chef ordered me two cases of pears instead of one. You would not believe how many desserts, recipes, creations, adaptations I came up with trying not to waste any. I almost thought about writing on book on pears.
Another great one from that book, so good that I made another batch right away since we could not stop dunking and finding inventive reason why we should!
Her original recipe called for chopped almonds which I replaced with cranberries, and I used orange flower extract instead of almond extract. If you want a foolproof recipe that you can adapt to your heart’s content, well look no further.
Lenox Biscotti, adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cormeal
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp almond extract (I used orange flower water)
3/4 cup sliced almonds ( I used dried unsweet cranberries, but store bought work well, believe me I have tried aready)
In stand mixer (hand held is fine) cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the flavor extract you chose.
Sift together the flour, baking powder,salt and cormeal and add to the butter mixture. Fold in the cranberries (or nuts).
Scrape half the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using a spatula and your fingers, form the dough into a log, 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Repeat with the second portion of the dough.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the logs are light golden but still soft to the touch. Let cool for 30 minutes but keep the oven on.
With a long serrated knife cut slices from each log and spread them out onto baking sheets. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes until firm.
Next step? Try to wait until they are cold enough not to burn your tongue….! Happy dunking!
Comments
Unknown December 8, 2006 um 3:23 am
Biscotti, biscotti everywhere! I’m making some this weekend and will post about it as well! I love this book…just got it and can’t wait to try more recipes. Just posted my first one today.
Anonymous December 8, 2006 um 7:36 am
This looks excellent. Great idea with the cranberry! No, I’m certainly not getting tired of the great berry, infact I’m craving it. Must be all those anti-oxidants.
Patricia Scarpin December 8, 2006 um 12:18 pm
Helene,
I like your idea of using this recipe as a base for other biscotti flavors!
wheresmymind December 8, 2006 um 2:35 pm
VERY holiday! I’d dig something like this
Anonymous December 8, 2006 um 3:24 pm
You might get tired of them so you need to send some of these goodies my way 😉 I will take them!!! 😉
Anonymous December 8, 2006 um 4:39 pm
Hum..biscotti…odeur d’Italie …
Non, vraiment j’adore ces bicuits et je ne pensais pas que la cranberrie pourrait faire l’affaire mais apparement je me trompais…
bises
Lis December 8, 2006 um 6:14 pm
Ohhh they sound wonderful!! After an extremely hectic week, I am so going to bake more biscotti to make it all better 😀
xoxo
Helene December 8, 2006 um 7:09 pm
Claire: I love this book too, down to earth and to the point.
Tanna: I bet my doctor would try to convince that they are not valid in pastries, but I am not listening!
Patricia: so far it has been great, I plan on experimenting more.
wheresmymind: they are great for gift giving because they last a long time.
Bea: email me your address. Seriously, I would!
Emma: la cranberrie sechee, sinon j’ai peur que ce sois trop liquid.
Veux tu que je t’en apporte? J’arrive en France le 15 decembre!
Lis: sorry to hear you had a difficult week. Biscotti do make life sweeter!
Meeta K. Wolff December 8, 2006 um 8:32 pm
Helene – cranberry biscotti?? I love it. Who can tire of cranberries any way. These look delish!
Anonymous December 9, 2006 um 1:01 am
Cranberry biscotti and a cup of coffee. Sounds like the perfect thing for a rainy cold day in Alabama.
Anonymous December 9, 2006 um 11:07 am
Yum! Now I have to go looking for cranberries, and that’s not easy in this country!
Anonymous December 10, 2006 um 3:00 am
You are a biscotti making fool…looks great.
Anonymous December 10, 2006 um 9:37 am
Helene >> C’est très très gentil de ta part de me le proposer si gentiment, mais je ne suis pas disponible pendant cette période Décembre / Janvier (peut être début fevrier) je suis en stage d’étude à l’étranger …
Mais merci infiniment de cette si gentille proposition .
bises
Anonymous March 25, 2008 um 12:18 am
Hi Helene!
Happy Easter to you and your family 🙂 Many thanks for sharing this recipe~ and for bravely trying out different version of it which encouraged me to play around too! 😛 my 1st time making and having biscotti, and i am loving it! 😀 *hugs*