Lemon Cranberry Biscotti

Mar 5

Mar 5 Lemon Cranberry Biscotti

This easy, stir-together recipe yields crisp biscotti with a delicious, lightly-sweet blend of lemon and cranberry in each bite. They’re satisfyingly crunchy but not so hard that a dunk in coffee is required – a good thing, because honestly, lemon and coffee is not the best flavor combination. If you must dunk, try it in your Earl Grey instead.

Semolina flour is softer than All Purpose flour, so it gives these biscotti a finer texture and slight nutty flavor. It also gives them a lovely buttery hue, a result of semolina’s natural yellow color. I chop the cranberries to make the cookies easier to cut, but also so the cranberry flavor is evenly distributed throughout.

Biscotti requires 2 bakes. Once to bake the dough, and another to dry out the individual, cut cookies. Even so, these are a breeze to make. The dough comes together quickly, and by the time you’re done washing dishes the first bake is just about done.

Lemon Cranberry Biscotti Recipe:

Yield:
2 dozen biscotti

Difficulty:
Moderate

Ingredients:

220 grams AP Flour
82 grams Semolina flour
5 TBSP (70 grams) Unsalted butter, melted
⅔ cup (130 grams) Granulated sugar
½ tsp Table salt
2 tsp Baking powder
1 TBSP Lemon zest
2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Large eggs
1 cup Dried sweetened cranberries, chopped into small pieces
Cranberry glaze, recipe follow (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the AP Flour and Semolina flour. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, lemon zest and vanilla. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.

Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well combined. It’s a little easier to stir in the flours in batches. Once combined, the dough will be very soft.

Stir in the dried cranberries.

Divide the dough roughly in half. Working one half at a time, form each half of dough into a rough rectangular log (about 10 x 4 inches) on the prepared baking sheet. Leave a few inches between the logs because the dough will spread when baked. See photo below.

Tip: Using a bowl scraper or bench scraper helps when forming the rectangle on the baking sheet since this is such a soft dough. Once the dough is in a rough rectangle it easier to finesse the final shape with your hands. Smooth the top with an offset spatula.

Divide batter and form into logs right on the parchment.

Bake for 20-25 minutes rotating the pan halfway through the bake. Check after 20 to make sure it’s not getting too dark. The dough will have spread and feel firm when done. Remove from oven and let the dough cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F. Line a second baking sheet with parchment.

Working one log at a time, transfer to a cutting board, and slice log into ½ inch cookies using a serrated knife. Use a gentle, sawing motion rather than pressing down to avoid breaking the cookie.

Place biscotti cut side down on baking sheet (see photo below) and bake for 20 minutes, checking after 15 to make sure they aren’t getting too dark. Let cool completely in pan. Dip ends in Cranberry Glaze if desired.

Biscotti in the pan, ready for their second bake.

Cranberry Glaze

Ingredients:

2-3 TBSP Cranberry juice
140 grams Confectioners’ sugar
1 TBSP Light corn syrup
Glazing instructions:

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. It should be fairly thick, like honey. Add more juice if too thick, or more sugar if too thin.

Place a wire cooling rack on a baking sheet to catch glaze drips.

Working one biscotti at a time, brush off excess crumbs and dip one end into the bowl of glaze letting excess drip off before placing back on parchment. Alternatively, hold the biscotti over the bowl and spoon glaze over the end of the cookie letting the excess drip off. Set aside to drip dry on the cooling rack.