Chilly grey day ... baking to warm up the kitchen and give SB and I a nice, crisp snack to have with a cuppa this afternoon. The days of baking sweets once or twice a week have long gone. I'm convinced that we appreciate cookies more, now that they are truly an infrequent treat.
That said, these crispy biscotti are easy and quick to mix up. They do take a bit of puttering with, but they're well worth it. My friend, Anna gave me beautiful dried cherries that she bought in bulk when she was vacationing in Michigan. They are absolutely beautiful - large and perfectly pitted and dried. They get a soaking simmer in German Kirschwasser before being drained well and rolled up in the dough ball with toasted almond spikes.
Tea time was a delicious affair today !
Cherry Almond Biscotti
Oven - 325 degrees F for 35 minutes
In a small saucepan, warm for 8 minutes:
1 3/4 c. dried cherries
1/2 c. Kirschwasser ( you can use Amaretto as an alternative - yum!)
Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid. Set the cherries aside to cool.
Toast in a fry pan:
3/4 c. slivered almonds
Tip the golden brown nuts onto a cool plate and set aside to cool.
Sift together:
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
In another large bowl, whip together:
4 tbsp. butter
1 c. sugar
Add one at a time, whipping well:
3 large eggs
Add and continue whipping:
2 tbsp. reserved cherry liquid
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Switch over to mixing by hand. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until a thick dough forms.
Add the cherries and toasted almonds, turning them into the dough.
Divide the dough ball in half and turn one ball at a time onto a floured surface.
Roll the dough into a 12" x 2.5" log and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Brush the logs with a beaten egg and sprinkle the tops with some granulated sugar.
Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the logs for 20 minutes.
Carefully slice the logs into biscotti slices ( about 16 slices per log). Reduce the heat in the oven to 300 degrees F. Lay the biscotti slices back on the cookie sheet and return to the oven to crisp up ... for another 16 minutes.
Turn the oven off, turn the biscotti slices over, and leave them in the warm oven to continue crisping in the residual heat.
Store the biscotti in a tightly covered tin.
nice
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