Festive Cranberry And Date Biscotti Recipes

CRANBERRY LEMON BISCOTTI RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/176C degrees.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the dried cranberries, sugar, oil, and extracts. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix together well, until a dough is formed and is slightly stiff, but still soft.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Form each dough piece into a small rectangular loaf. Place loaves on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 5 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 300F/148C degrees. Remove slightly cooled biscotti loaves from the pan and cut into 15 (½-3/4") slices on the diagonal with a sharp knife. Place the slices back on the baking sheet and bake for additional 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and transfer biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely.

CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until well-blended. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into egg mixture. Stir in ground almonds and cranberries (mixture will be stiff)., Divide dough in half. Using lightly floured hands, shape each portion into a 9x3-in. rectangle on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 25 minutes., Cool on pans on wire racks until firm. Reduce oven setting to 325°. Transfer baked rectangles to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/2-in. slices. Place on baking sheets, cut side down., Bake until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes per side. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

HOLIDAY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
• Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
• Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
• Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
• The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

FESTIVE CRANBERRY AND DATE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well.
• Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
• Mix in orange zest, vanilla, ginger and nutmeg.
• Beat in flour mixture just until blended.
• Stir in cranberries, dates and pistachios (dough will be sticky).
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.
• Gather dough together; divide in half.
• Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide).
• Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.
• Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 30 minutes.
• Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes.
• Maintain oven temperature.
• Carefully transfer logs still on parchment paper to cutting board.
• Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Place slices, one cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets.
• Bake until firm and pale golden, about 10 minutes per side.
• Transfer cookies to racks and cool.
• Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth.
• Remove from over water.
• Using tines of fork, drizzle chocolate over biscotti or, alternatively, dip half of biscotti in the melted chocolate.
• Let stand until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

FESTIVE CRANBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; beat well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in cranberries, dates and pecans. Spread in a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for glaze, heat orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Invert cake onto a serving plate. With a toothpick, punch holes in cake. Spoon glaze over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. If desired, top with sugared cranberries and rosemary.