I’ve done these cranberry almond biscotti a few times and they always disappear extremely fast, which is clearly a sign of how good they are 😊.
Last week I did a videoconference call with my childhood friends in Spain. They are confined home but thankfully all healthy and doing well. We welcomed Spring with a virtual “Spring Party”, like they would do on the streets of Girona if things were normal… We cut some paper flowers and put a flower shirt on. It was so nice to see them all. We decided to meet every week and do a “weekly challenge”. For the challenge one family would propose an activity, every family would prepare it, show it to the group, vote and the winner suggest the activity for the following week. Fun, right?! (Something else to keep the kids entertained for a bit and an excuse to see each other again…).
I was the one to choose the fist challenge: COOKIES! So yesterday we met up and we shared what we had done. At home we prepared the cranberry almond biscotti of this post, and we had some other interesting cookies: dinosaur paw cookies, chocolate chip cookies and the winner… playdough cookies!!! What an original idea!
Next week we’re up to some more fun with a 30 second dance… That’ll be interesting…
So anyway, going back to the cranberry almond biscotti we made, or I should say, I made, because my kids abandoned me half way through to go with his dad to build a hot air balloon… I call this unfair competition!!! Anyway, even though these biscotti might look a bit intimidating to some of you, they are actually pretty easy to prepare. And they are really delicious! So now that we have so much time in our hands give them a try, they won’t disappoint you!
I got the recipe from a book “Baking Essentials” from Williams
Sonoma, but I modified it a little. The original recipe is with pistachio but I
didn’t have any at home, so I just used almonds. You can use any nuts you may have
handy at home: hazelnuts, pecan, walnuts… they would all be a great option. And
the same applies to the cranberries, you could replace them with raisins, dried
figs or apricot for example. And if you don’t have any, just with the nuts they
would also taste really good! The recipe also calls for almond essence but I
didn’t have it so I used vanilla instead. And, as I always do, I reduced the
amount of sugar they use.
As I said, they turned out delish!!! I’m enjoying them with my after-lunch coffee, but they are also great for a mid afternoon tea or just eat them straight up all day long, because… why not?!
These cranberry almond biscotti are surprisingly easy to prepare and they taste amazingly good! Have them with some coffee or tea, or just eat them straight up. They will not disappoint!
Ingredients
Scale
2 cups (315 g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp (6 g) baking powder
1/2 tsp (4 g) salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/2 cup (125 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (125 g) chopped toasted almonds
1/2 cup (60 g) dried cranberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the eggs and sugar. Beat at high speed (if using a stand mixer) until light in color and thick.
Add the melted butter, orange zest and vanilla extract on low speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Stir in the almonds and cranberries. The dough will be soft and sticky, and it might look like there are more almonds and cranberries than dough, but that’s ok.
Divide the dough in two and with your hands make two logs 10 in (25 cm) long, 3 in (7.5 cm) wide and 1/2 in (1.5 cm aprox) tall directly on the baking sheet. Put them 3 in (7.5 cm) apart.
Bake the logs until they are crisp and golden on the outside, about 25 min. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 min.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
Transfer the logs to a cutting board and with a serrated knife cut the logs crosswise (along the shortest side of the rectangle) into 3/4 in (2 cm) thick. The center will still be soft.
Arrange the slices cut side down (inside of the biscotti facing up) on the baking sheet and return to the oven until the biscotti are crisp and brown on the outside, about 20 min.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 min and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The interior of the biscotti become crisp as they cool down.
Enjoy with coffee or tea or just straight up!
Notes
You can use any nuts and dried fruit you have in handy: hazelnuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, raisins, dried figs, apricots, …
