Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti

This week I was signed up to bring Valentine's goodies to my husband's work. I was looking for a dessert that had either red or pink, in addition to the caramel corn & sugar cookies I was already planning. I found this recipe for white chocolate cranberry biscotti on Allrecipes.com, and tried my hand at making biscotti. It was fun! This turns out nothing like the brick-hard packaged biscotti. It's still crisp & crunchy, but not overly so!

I know there are many flavor variations for biscotti, so I'm sure you could use these basic directions and make it your own. I did one batch with white chocolate chips (and dipped one side of them in melted white chocolate), and one batch with semi-sweet chocolate chips. They were both wonderful! From what I read online, these stay fresh for several days in either an airtight container or a ziploc bag. They only lasted a day in my house though!!

(Recipe source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/white-chocolate-cranberry-biscotti/Detail.aspx)

You divide the dough into 3 parts, and shape each one into a 10x2-inch log.


After the first bake, you let it cool for 5 minutes, then you slice it diagonally like this.


Lay them flat side down on a baking sheet, then bake again until lightly browned.


All done baking!


I dipped them in melted chocolate, then put them on a non-stick mat to set up.


White Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti
Printable version here

Yield: 21 pieces of biscotti, plus end pieces

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional)
Pinch of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup (white) chocolate chips

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips. Divide dough into three portions.

2. On ungreased baking sheets (I used parchment), shape each portion into a 10-in. x 2-in. rectangle. Bake at 350º for 21-22 minutes or until lightly browned. (*I put each portion on its own baking sheet, otherwise they would've run into each other. I baked my 2 smaller sheets at the same time, and my 1 larger sheet on its own after that.) Cool on sheet for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1-inch slices. Place cut side down on baking sheets. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

4. (Optional) To dip in chocolate- I used Wilton chocolate candy melts, which are just meant to be easy to melt & dipped in. I heated them in the microwave according to package directions, then poured the melted chocolate into a shallow rectangular dish. I dipped each piece of biscotti into it, then set it on a non-stick mat to set up. You could also set it on waxed paper or parchment paper.

Here's an article someone wrote about how to melt chocolate, if you want to read more about it: http://simplydesigning.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-melt-chocolate-for-dipping.html

Why I love it? It was easy to make, even having never made biscotti before. I followed the directions, and it worked! It's delicious, and fancy enough to give as a gift! It can also be made with unlimited variations. I've only made the two I posted about here, but I'd love to hear about any variations that you make, too!