BISCOTTI

I only started to make these cookies for the holiday a couple of years ago; I always thought they were too much trouble to make.  Once I actually realized how easy they are to make, I started to make them all the time for the holidays.  I have a friend who enjoys them with his morning coffee, so I like to have them on hand during the holiday season for him, and when I make his holiday goodie bag, I always make sure to give him plenty of biscotti.

This is great in the sense that you could really flavor it with anything you like - for instance, if you like chocolate biscotti, you could add a cup of your favorite coco powder to the batter.  If you like them orange flavored, grate a little orange zest into the batter.  The flavor combinations are endless.  I like to make two different batches: for one, I just add anisette to the batter and the second batch is where I add nuts, chocolate, and orange zest.  These flavor combinations work well together, and I usually melt some fantastic chocolate and dip the ends of the biscotti into it for some extra flavor.

These cookies are a huge hit; everyone likes them in the morning with coffee, and they are a great cookie to dunk into your morning cup of joe. They also store well; you could keep them in a sealed tin for a couple of weeks easily.

BISCOTTI

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 

• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 large eggs 
• 3/4 cup pistachios or any other kind of nuts, coarsely chopped (optional) 
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries (optional) 
• 12 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped 
• Anisette

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
 
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
 
Place the log on the cutting board, using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.