Karen Cooks: Cranberry-Walnut Biscotti

One biscotto.

Two biscotti.

But who could eat just one? These long, brown and crispy, twice-baked cookies are wonderful for dunking. Dunk them in hot chocolate, milk, coffee, wine... it's all good!

I love this Cranberry-Walnut Biscotti recipe and have been making it for years. The biscotti are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. If you're looking for biscotti that will break your teeth (and we've all had those) this recipe isn't for you!

You can change this recipe and make it different each time! I've made this with pistachio nuts and dried cranberries and it's delish! You could use currants instead of the cranberries, or make them just with walnuts... or hazelnuts. After they're out of the oven, you could even melt some chocolate and dip one side of each biscotto. Fancy schmancy!

Cranberry-Walnut Biscotti
1 c Sugar
1/2 c Butter (1 stick) at room temp
3 large Eggs
1/2 c Dried Cranberries
1 c Walnuts, chopped
1/3 c Sherry
3 c Flour
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. I love my Kitchen Aid! I've had it for 18 years and it runs like the day I bought it. What a great investment!

Add the eggs, cranberries, walnuts and sherry.

Sift flour and baking powder....

... and add to the egg mixture - about a cup at a time... and mix until well blended.

Put a piece of wax paper on your counter (Tip! If you dab a bit of water on the counter at each corner of the wax paper, it won't slip). This dough is very sticky. Put a little flour on the paper and spoon the dough from the bowl into two equal portions, like this:

Then gently pat each portion of dough into a log onto a half-sheet pan lined with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Using a small serrated knife, cut each log into diagonal slices. Just lay the slices over on their side on the same pan. Return them to the oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Place biscotti on a rack until completely cooled. These freeze really well... I just put them in a Ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer. When you're in the mood for dunking, they don't take long to thaw.