Cranberry Lemon Almond Biscotti
Yield = 24 biscotti
Ingredients
2 large
1/2 cup
3/4 cup
1 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon
2 teaspoons
1 cup
1 cup
1 zest
2 cups
Eggs - room temperature
Canola Oil
Granulated Sugar
Baking Powder
Table Salt
Vanilla Extract
Dried Cranberries
Slivered Almonds - chopped
Fresh Lemon
All-purpose Flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.
It is very important to mix the ingredients in the order as instructed below. If you vary the sequence the results may not be as desirable. This is because you are going to be combining fats, dissolving sugar, and trying to incorporate dry solids (nuts & cranberries) into the dough. Just follow this sequence and everything should work out fine.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Just remember that you are trying to incorporate these ingredients together. Each time you use the whisk, mix the ingredients until the mixture has a uniform color.
Now add the canola oil to the bowl and whisk again to incorporate.
Add the baking powder, salt, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk again.
Remove the whisk from the bowl and take it away from your workspace. From this point on, you want to only use a large spoon to mix the dough. Add the lemon zest, cranberries, and slivered almonds to the bowl. Use the spoon to mix these ingredients into the wet dough. Getting these dry ingredients wet at this time will make it easier to incorporate them into the dry flour.
Finally, add the all-purpose flour to the bowl and using the spoon, mix until all of the flour is incorporated into the wet dough. When you are done you should not see any white flour hiding anywhere in the bowl. I find that using a bowl scraper or stiff rubber spatula in a chopping motion makes this last step go easier for me.
Generously flour a work surface and place the dough on top of the flour. Put a little flour on your hands press the dough together to form a ball. Cut the ball into two pieces and set one piece aside for now.
Shape the first half of the cut dough into a ball again. This step is similar to making a snowball with snow. You are packing the dough together so that there is no air inside the ball.
Now roll the ball back and forth on the floured surface forming the shape of a can. Continue to gently roll the can back and forth forming the dough into a uniform shaped rope that is about 10 inches long.
Transfer the rope using two hands to the top of a cookie sheet. You do not need to do anything to the cookie sheet prior to putting the dough on top of it. The baked logs will be easy to get off of the cookie sheet after you have baked them. Using a bowl scraper or other flat object, shape the rope into a rectangle with a flat top and sides.
Repeat steps 9 through 11 with the second half of the dough.
Place the cookie sheet containing the two dough logs into the oven on the middle shelf. Bake for 35 minutes. Then remove cookie sheet from oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the cookie sheet to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes and then slide the logs onto a cutting surface. You may need to slide a thin metal spatula under the logs to get them to separate from the cookie sheet.
Using a sharp serrated edged knife, slice the logs into individual biscotti that are about 3/4 to 1 inch wide.
Place the individual biscotti back onto the cookie sheet with a cut side of the biscotti facing down.
Return the cookie sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. The biscotti should have a nice golden brown color when the are done.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place on a cooling rack. You can leave the biscotti on the cookie sheet to cool or remove them from the cookie sheet and cool directly on a cooling rack.
Serve them after they have cooled. To store the biscotti for later use, first let the biscotti come to down to room temperature. Make sure they have completely cooled before placing them into a ziploc bag. Close the bag an leave on counter or refrigerate them. They will last for weeks in the ziploc bag.