cranberry almond biscotti with white chocolate

 'Tis the season for tins and boxes full of goodies!  Today's recipe is a nice sized little treat to pair with a friend and a hot cup of tea or coffee.  Confession before we get started: I'm completely new to making biscotti.  Biscotti has always intimidated me with it's multiple bakes and perfect little shape. I didn't think I could pull it off...but this recipe came together nicely after some inspiration when I watched Irish Chef Clodagh McKenna make her orange chocolate biscotti (which is an amazing flavor combination I might add). So, I got to my kitchen and began playing around with recipes.  I first made a chocolate coconut biscotti on Halloween (pics are on my instagram if you're interested).  Those came out nice but the recipe needs more tweaking and I really wanted to play with a light, holiday flavor and I think these hit the mark.  The almonds and almond extract bring a soft balance to the tart cranberries and the drizzle of white chocolate adds just the right amount of sweetness.  And I promise...these aren't too complicated.  I'm happy to report that I've cured by biscotti-timidation.

Cranberry Almond Biscotti with White Chocolate

Ingredients
-2 eggs
-3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 1 TBS softened butter (my go-to favorite is Kerrygold!)
-1 tsp almond extract
-2 1/4 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 cup sliced almonds
-1 cup fresh cranberries

For White Chocolate Drizzle
-1/2 package of white chocolate chips (more is fine too!)
-1/4 cup sliced almonds for garnish (chop them up a little bit more)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Add your eggs and sugar to a mixer and beat together.  Add in the butter, almond extract and continue to mix until incorporated.  Sift in the flour, baking powder and mix with the butter/eggs/sugar mixture until blended into a sticky batter.  Pour in the almonds and cranberries and fold in gently.  Lightly flour your counter or a cutting board and pour the entire batter onto the floured surface.  It will be sticky! No worries here!  With floured hands, divide the dough into two halves and knead/shape each into a log.  Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully slice the biscotti into individual pieces, approximately 1/2 inch thick, and turn over each piece flat on the tray. Don't stress about the exact size or if a piece or two breaks...rustic biscotti tastes just as good! Return the tray to the oven and bake for another ten minutes.  Remove it from the oven and flip them over flat on the other side.  Return to the oven one last time for ten minutes and remove from the oven.  Allow the biscotti to cool completely on the tray before adding the chocolate drizzle.

For the drizzle, place a heat safe bowl over a pot of boiling water to use as a "double boiler."  Add the white chocolate to the bowl and stir frequently to allow the chocolate to melt evenly.  Once melted, you can pour the melted chocolate into a coffee mug and dip the biscotti ends into it and return to the parchment paper to set or you can use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate on top.  Sprinkle the additional sliced almonds on the melted chocolate before it sets. Let the biscotti set, brew a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

This recipe makes approximately 15 various sized pieces. I hope you like them and happy holiday baking!

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