Making Biscotti With Amy

My daughter, Amy and I got together and made biscotti last week. She's a great cook and has enjoyed cooking since she was a girl of 10. We work well in the kitchen together as she likes to create and I like to cleanup.We made two kinds of biscotti, Almond Cherry, and Nutty Chocolate Chip. Here are the ingredients for the Almond Cherry Biscotti: 1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (8 oz.), 1/2 cup toasted almonds, 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1 (11-ounce) bag white chocolate chips, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoons of rum extract. For the Nutty Chocolate Chip Biscotti: 1 roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough(16.5 oz.), 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon rum extract, 1 1/2 cups of chopped almonds, lightly toasted, 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. The demonstration pictures are of the Almond Cherry recipe.

Get a little helper to chop the almonds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts in one layer on ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.

I recommend parchment paper, easy cleanup! So, line two cookie sheets with the paper.

Open sugar cookie log and put into large bowl, then add toasted almonds and cherries, vanilla and rum extract. Press into dough with hands, mixing in well.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions. We doubled the recipe, otherwise you would only have two balls.

Take each ball and shape into 8x1 inch log. On cookie sheet, place logs 3 inches apart: flatten each log until about 1 1/2
inches wide.

Now, they're ready for the oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. While they are cooling reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees because they will be going back in.

After they have cooled, with a serrated knife, on a slant carefully cut log in half as it makes it easier to work with.

Take each half and still cutting on a slant, cut 3/4 inch slices. Each log makes 8 to 10 slices.

On same cookie sheet, place slices, cut side down. Return to oven; bake 1 hour. Remove cookies from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

In small microwavable bowl. place chocolate chips. Microwave on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave 1 minute longer, stirring every 15 seconds. Dip 1/4 of each cookie into melted chocolate; or, like we did, use a baggie filled with the melted chocolate, corner cut with scissors and drizzle on.

Here's a picture of the Nutty Chocolate Chip Biscotti. The same directions for the Almond Cherry can be used for these using the ingredients I listed.

These will make nice gifts for neighbors, family, friends. Wrapped in cellophane tied with a ribbon and placed in a basket with some coffee beans and a mug would make a great gift.