Chocolate Cherry And Chile Biscotti Recipes

CHOCOLATE, CHERRY AND CHILE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Position the racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat to 350º F.
• Using a hand-held electric mixer set at high speed, beat the butter, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl until well combined, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, chili powder, and salt to combine. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat in the butter mixture. Work in the chocolate, walnuts, and cherries.
• Divide the dough in half. Using lightly floured hands on a floured work surface, form the dough into two 10 X 2-inch logs. Place the logs on an ungreased large baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Bake on the center rack until set and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, carefully cut the logs into diagonal slices about 1/2 inch wide. Place the slices on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until the undersides of the biscotti are beginning to brown at the edges, about 8 minutes. Turn the biscotti over. Switch the positions of the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking until lightly browned on the other side, about 8 minutes more.
• Cool completely on baking sheets. (The biscotti can be prepared up to 1 week ahead, cooled, and tightly covered in an airtight container at room temperature.)
• Reprinted from Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family by Art Smith.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the almond extract. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in candied cherries and mini chocolate chips.
• With lightly floured hands, shape dough into two 10 inch long loaves. Place rolls 5 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet; flatten each to 3 inch width.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set and light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange slices cut side down on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown. Turn, and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until browned and crisp. Cool completely. Melt white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Drizzle cookies with melted white chocolate. Store in tightly covered container.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flours and salt in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.
• Beat sugar and eggs with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 4 minutes). Add oil and extracts, beating until well-blended. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in cherries and chocolate chips.
• Divide dough in half; turn out onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Shape each portion into a 10-inch-long roll, and flatten to 1-inch thickness. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove rolls from the baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
• Cut each roll diagonally into 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over, and bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the dry ingredients first: whisking together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, lemon zest and butter until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporation and scraping down the sides in between.
• Add the flour mixture and beat until just blended, then stir in the cherries and (optional) pistachios.
• Form the dough into 12" long x 3" wide logs on the parchment paper. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until light golden. Cool for 30 minutes.
• Place the log on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut diagonally, 1/2"-3/4" slices. Lay the slices on the baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are a pale golden color. While they are cooking, get a pot of water boiling for your double boiler. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Place the chocolate chips in a small pot set over the pot of simmering water. Stir constantly to avoid burning the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely melted, dip the ends of the biscotti in and set them on a parchment sheet to set. Place all the biscotti in the refrigerator for about a half hour, until the chocolate firms up.
• They can be made ahead, or frozen for up to 3 weeks.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 18x13-inch baking sheet with cooking parchment paper.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
• In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed about 3 minutes or until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and cherries. Divide dough into thirds on lightly floured surface. Lightly flour hands, and shape each piece of dough into 12-inch long log. Place logs on baking sheet, 4 inches apart. Press down gently to flatten to 2 inches wide.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set, but still slightly soft. Place baking sheet on cooling rack; cool completely, about 1 hour. Transfer to cutting board and, with serrated knife, cut logs crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices cut side down on ungreased large cookie sheets, 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until tops are dry. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla baking chips and shortening uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Transfer melted chips to small resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut small corner from one end of bag. Drizzle over biscotti. Let stand until drizzle is set, about 30 minutes.
• Store in tightly covered container.