Saturday, February 6, 2010

Cranberry Cashew Biscotti

Last week, we got ourselves some baking books from the public library. I was very much attracted to one of the books which has biscotti recipe. From my last baking of biscotti, I found out that a real Italian biscotti should not consist of butter/oil. Egg should be the one and the only one binding factor. Coincidently, the recipe that is featured in this book fits perfectly the description of real Italian biscotti.

Cranberry Cashew Biscoti

As we are inviting some friends over for coffee and cookies session this afternoon, I have decided to try out the cranberry cashew biscotti as can be found in the book “Baking Simple to Sensational” by Jean Pare. We would like to introduce to our Asian friends the art of drinking coffee and having biscotti.

The author described the biscotti as crunchy biscotti that are perfect for dunking. Lively flavours of cranberry and lemon delight the taste buds.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 large eggs, fork beaten
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 2/3 cup chopped toasted cashew
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Steps:

  1. Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
  2. Add in beaten eggs and mix until stiff dough forms.
  3. Stir in remaining 3 ingredients until all well blended.
  4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide dough in half.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Shape each half into an oblong 8 inch roll, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Flatten slightly.
  7. Place the dough onto a parchment paper in the baking tray.
  8. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
  9. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 1 1/2 hour until cool.
  10. Remove to cutting board and cut on diagonal with serrated knife into 1/2 inch thick slices. Never use a bread knife to cut.
  11. Bake for another 20 minutes until dry and browned on bottom.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen biscotti. This is definitely a recipe to keep. Healthier, tastier and perfect to go with a cup of our favourite coffee.

No comments:

Post a Comment