Biscotti

This biscotti is relatively soft, compared to the more traditional rock-hard biscotti. The recipe came about when I was helping Sanya come up with potential products to sell at Tazi's Cafe. This is a compilation of my favorite parts of several different recipes I considered. It's easy to customize this recipe (see variations below for some ideas). I've tried it with almonds & cranberries, hazelnuts & chocolate chips, and pecans (the last one being my least favorite). I've tried melting chocolate into the dough to make chocolate and almond biscotti. That turned out well, but I prefer using chocolate chips instead of melting the chocolate and ending up with a dark brown biscotti. I've also tried making this recipe with whole wheat flour, which I liked less than using all-purpose flour -- the taste/texture of the flour didn't seem to fit with the cookie. Point being, there are plenty of ways you can customize this recipe. Try playing around with the ingredients, and let us know if you come up with anything delicious!

[Makes about 18 biscotti.]
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cardamom
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup almonds
2/3 cup cranberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt the butter so that it is soft but not too warm. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and eggs. Beat in flour. If using a hand mixer, the mixture may get too dry for the mixer to handle, in which case mix the rest with a fork. Add in spices, baking powder, salt and mix in.
Fold in nuts and cranberries. The dough should be pretty firm at this point, and should not stick to your hands.

Dump out dough onto a silicone- or parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape dough into a long log, flattening out the top so that the log is about 2" wide and 1/2" thick, and even throughout.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Turn down oven to 325F. Remove from oven and slice into individual biscotti and turn cut-side up on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 325F. Then flip biscotti so that the other cut-side faces up and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, allow to cool, and enjoy.

Variations:

1. Hazelnut & Chocolate Chips
   Don't add any vanilla, and substitute 1 cup roasted hazelnuts for the almonds and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for the cranberries.
2. Almond extract
   If making the almond variety, try using 1-2 teaspoons of almond extract in addition to, or perhaps instead of the vanilla for a stronger almond taste.
3. Chocolate biscotti
   Melt a few semisweet chocolate squares with the butter.
4. Chocolate-dipped biscotti
   Melt together 1/2 cup dark chocolate, 1/2 tsp. instant coffee, 2 Tbsp. butter, and a pinch of salt in a double boiler. Dip bottoms of baked biscotti directly into chocolate. Place chocolate side down on parchment paper and let the chocolate harden to room temperature (or chill in fridge).