Cherry & almond biscotti

A deliciously unique cake! perfect with coffee, tea or hot chocolate

Tips

cool before cutting!

One of my biggest struggles with baking is patience, unfortunately for a lot of recipes patience is key. This is one of them. After you do your first bake, you should allow the loafs to cool completely before trying to cut them.

cherry & almond biscotti

Preparation Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 60 minutes | Serving size: 32-36

Gather

• 1 ¾ cups (8oz)  dried cherries
• ½ cup whiskey, plus more if needed
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs 
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup whole blanched almonds, chopped
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (if you have turbinado sugar, i recommend using it here)
• Oven safe wire rack needed 

Follow

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat cherries and whiskey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cherries have softened, about 5 minutes. Set up a cup to reserve the liquid. Drain into the cup, reserving 2 tablespoons. If the liquid equals less than 2 tablespoons, add enough liqueur to make 2 tablespoons.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in 3 whole eggs, one at a time. Mix in reserved cherry liquid and the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in cherries and almonds.
3. On a lightly floured surface, halve the dough. Shape each half into a 13-inch-by-2½-inch log. Flatten logs (which should be rectangles with overly rounded corners) to ½-inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with 1 beaten egg; sprinkle with the sugar.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Transfer to wire racks to cool, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees (or 325 for a crispier biscotti)
5. Cut each log diagonally into 14 to 18 pieces. Pieces should be about ½-inch long. Be sure the logs are completely cool before cutting or they’ll crumble. (A sharp knife will help with this task; try to get one that can cut the total width of the biscotti.) Place biscotti onto oven safe wire rack, cook for 8 minutes, flip biscotti over, and cook for another 8 minutes.