Cranberry Almond Biscotti with White Chocolate

My girlfriends and I have started adding a once a month craft night to our regular "girls nights" of which we will each take a turn hosting. The first (official) of these nights was hosted by Oksana who served us a spread of cheese and crackers, chips and salsa and some lovely biscotti! one day i hope to be as good a hostess as she.

The biscotti was so delicious i had to run home and make it; Okay well maybe the very next day; and a different recipe, but either way i couldn't wait to get started!

I was without oranges in my fruit bowl so i wasn't able to add the lovely orange zest that was suggested but overall i would say this recipe still turned out delicious! Biscotti is the classic cookie to enjoy with a cup of tea;

and i did, many times ;)

and hope you will too! 

I've always had this misconception that making biscotti was incredibly difficult, and since i didn't really care for it, or so i thought until trying a home made one, it didn't really matter. But i was completely wrong! and here i had been missing out for years!

there are a few steps involved but even so i found that the extra steps we're totally worth it and quite simple!! These cookies were slightly sweet and had the perfect crunch! i will definitely be making more biscotti and i can't wait to try more flavors and possibly even some gluten-free ones!!


Cranberry Almond Biscotti with White Chocolate
Adapted from my baking addiction

Ingredients:
1/4 C. Butter
3/4 C. Granulated sugar
1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract
2 Eggs
1 Egg white
2 C. All-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
 2 oz  White chocolate, chopped
1/2 C. Dried cranberries
1/2 C. Sliced Almonds

 Directions:
Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Mix in eggs, one at a time, followed by the egg whites. Beating until combined.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet using a wooden spoon or spatula.
Using the same spoon mix in the dried cranberries, almonds and white chocolate. Cover and chill until no longer sticky; approximately 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Once dough is chilled, place onto lightly floured surface and form into 2 flat logs, about 12 by 3 inches and  1 inch in depth (i eye balled it) each.
Place the logs onto the baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes or until a light golden color. Allow to cool until they are cool enough to touch. Cut across the logs at an angle in 1 inch pieces.

Lay out slices of biscotti back onto the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 15 minutes.

if you wish you can leave it there and remove from oven and cool. For my part i wanted both sides to be a golden color so i flipped them over and baked them for another 10 minutes. I think next time i will try flipping them after 10 minutes of baking and bake for another 10 for a total of 20 minutes.

as you see, there are lots of variations on baking times once the biscotti is sliced, so it is all up to your personal preference for a more crispy biscotti or chewy.