Just Desserts: Light Biscotti

The holidays are here and that means cookies! For a variation on the typical Christmas cookie, try this great biscotti recipe. I got this recipe from my grandmother, but I changed a few things (adding vanilla, dried cherries, and the final chocolate dip). The result is a decadent, flavorful, but not overly fattening biscotti.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• 4 and 1/2 cups flour (extra is needed for handling the dough in the shaping stage)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Whatever additions you like: chopped nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios), dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, apricots), orange zest, etc. You can be as creative as you like here.
• 1 and 1/2 cups melted chocolate

Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the melted butter (be sure it is room temperature so the eggs do not curdle). Mix in the flour and baking powder. Stir in the nuts and dried fruit (I use almonds and dried cherries). The final mixture will be fairly sticky.
3.) Sprinkle the bottom of a cookie sheet with flour. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Form rectangular slabs approximately 3 inches wide, 10 inches long, and 1/2 an inch thick. Use extra flour to help mold the dough into the rectangles.

4.) Bake for 20 to 25 min until the slabs are light brown in color.
5.) Remove from the oven and, when still warm, cut into 1/2 inch wide pieces. Lower the oven temperature to 125 degrees.
6.) Spread the cut pieces on a wire rack and place a 125-degree oven.
7.) Let the biscotti dry out in the warm oven for about an hour or until the cookies are crispy. They should not brown.
8.) If you like, melt chocolate (dark chocolate is my preference) in a double boiler and, when the cookies are cool, spread a thin layer on one side of the biscotti. Let the chocolate set and enjoy with a glass of milk, tea, or coffee.