Cherry Almond Biscotti
(Small Batch)
There is nothing like a small sweet treat with your coffee or tea to pick up your day or end the evening right. Biscotti often fits the bill but is expensive in coffee shops and stores. Recipes for this “twice baked” Italian cookie are sometimes cumbersome and make huge amounts. What if you just want a little biscotti? This recipe is for you! It is super easy to mix up using just a handful of common ingredients. This is a small batch recipe. It makes just enough biscotti for a 2-3 day supply for 2 people. Being a small batch also means you don’t need to drag out the big mixing bowl, countertop stand mixer or even a hand held mixer. These biscotti—while crispy and crunchy—are just a bit softer than traditional biscotti. This makes them easier to eat, whether or not you dip them in a hot beverage. This small batch recipe is great for a special sweet treat when you just want a little something. You can substitute any lightly toasted nut and dried fruit that you like. Blanched almonds and dried cherries are just what I had on hand when I developed this recipe, but walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, dried cranberries, currents or raisins would also be delicious!
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
Directions:
Combine Flour, Baking Powder and Salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Toss together roughly chopped almonds and dried cherries in small bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together egg, milk and canola oil. Add sugar, almond extract and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
Pour wet ingredients over flour mixture and use silicone spatula to combine. Dough will be very stiff. Use hands or spatula to incorporate nuts and fruit.
Turn out onto large piece of plastic wrap that’s been spray with non-stick cooking spray or oil.
Fold plastic wrap over dough and pat into a roughly 3” x 6” rectangle. Use a ruler to square up the sides and corners.
Transfer wrapped and shaped dough to a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flour to fully hydrate and the dough to firm.
Preheat oven to 300° fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap and dough and transfer to the center of the baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes until loaf begins to brown around the edges. Rotate once, halfway through baking.
Remove biscotti loaf from oven and cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 275° Fahrenheit.
Transfer loaf to a cutting board. Using a very sharp non-serrated knife, trim ½ inch off of both of the short ends of the Biscotti loaf to square up. Slice the loaf into 12 even slices by slicing in half—and then slicing each half, in half again—and then each quarter into thirds.
Return the slices to the baking sheet, laying them down flat so the cut side is in contact with the baking sheet.
Return the cookies to the oven for their second bake. Bake for 20 minutes, flip over and bake for an additional 20 minutes. The cut ends of the cookies should now be light golden brown.
Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely before eating or storing in an air tight container.
(Makes 1 dozen cookies)
Ingredients:
120 Grams (about one sifted cup) All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp salt
1 Large Egg
1 Tbsp Canola oil
1 Tbsp Milk
75 grams Sugar (About 6 Tbsp)
½ tsp Almond Extract
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
84 grams Blanched Almonds (Lightly toasted and roughly chopped.)
84 grams Dried Sour Cherries
There is nothing like a small sweet treat with your coffee or tea to pick up your day or end the evening right. Biscotti often fits the bill but is expensive in coffee shops and stores. Recipes for this “twice baked” Italian cookie are sometimes cumbersome and make huge amounts. What if you just want a little biscotti? This recipe is for you! It is super easy to mix up using just a handful of common ingredients. This is a small batch recipe. It makes just enough biscotti for a 2-3 day supply for 2 people. Being a small batch also means you don’t need to drag out the big mixing bowl, countertop stand mixer or even a hand held mixer. These biscotti—while crispy and crunchy—are just a bit softer than traditional biscotti. This makes them easier to eat, whether or not you dip them in a hot beverage. This small batch recipe is great for a special sweet treat when you just want a little something. You can substitute any lightly toasted nut and dried fruit that you like. Blanched almonds and dried cherries are just what I had on hand when I developed this recipe, but walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, dried cranberries, currents or raisins would also be delicious!
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
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