Cranberry Hazelnut Biscotti Food

BISCOTTI WITH CARAMELIZED HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the hazelnuts in a single layer on a silicon pad lined baking sheet. Put the tray in the center of the oven and cook until a little past light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Heat a large, stainless steel pan on medium heat. Make sure the pan is dry and clean to avoid any impurities or water affecting the caramel you are about to make. Add the sugar. Shake the pan slightly to distribute the sugar in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and keep your eye on the sugar as it melts and begins to turn brown. Lift the pan and swirl the sugar around from time to time as it melts. Do not stir with any utensils. Any impurities on the utensil could also disturb the sugar as it melts.*
• Prepare a baking sheet lined a silicon mat or parchment paper. Spray a layer of nonstick spray on the parchment, if using. Set aside. When the hazelnuts cool slightly and the caramel is a light brown, use a clean spoon to stir the hazelnuts into the caramel. Spray the spoon with nonstick spray so that the sugar doesn't stick to the end of the spoon as you work. Stir the nuts, coating them with the sugar. Use the spoon to scoop out the hazelnuts and spread them on to the lined baking sheet. Spread them as best you can without creating big clumps. Sprinkle with a touch of salt. Set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract and the lemon zest. Set aside.
• In another bowl, sift together the 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Stir the flour into the egg mixture. Use your hands to finish combining the wet and dry ingredients. Break apart and roughly chop the hazelnuts and gently work half of them into the dough. Reserve remaining half for snacking.
• Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Using your hands, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface. Form each half of the dough into a loaf-like shape about 2 inches wide and about 12 inches long. They should look like 2 loaves of bread. Carefully arrange the 2 loaves, side by side, on the baking sheet. For optimum baking, leave as much space as possible between the loaves.
• Put the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 25 to 30 minutes. The dough should be light brown and may rise a little as it cooks. Remove from the oven and put onto a flat surface to cool. Turn the oven off.
• Once cooled, using a serrated knife, gently saw the loaf into 1/2-inch thick slices, cut on an angle. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, cut sides up, in a single layer. There should be a little space between each slice. It will almost feel like the loaves are 2 puzzles that you take apart by cutting and then put back together on the baking sheet.
• Return the baking sheet to the oven. Allow them to sit in the oven for 10 minutes. This will cause the biscotti to firm up and toast, but only ever so slightly. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve with lemon curd.
• In a large, stainless steel pot, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest and orange zest. Continue to whisk until the mixture lightens in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice and orange juice.
• Put the pot over low heat and cook and stir constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken. Take care to scrape the sides of the pot so the curd doesnt form a crust on the edges or scorch as it cooks. After a few minutes, start gradually whisking in the slices of butter. When all of the butter is integrated, remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the curd to another bowl to cool, then cover it tightly with a layer of plastic wrap. The plastic should be placed directly on top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.
• Serve in a bowl alongside the biscotti for dunking or spreading on the biscotti like jam.
• Yield: about 1 to 1 1/2 cups curd
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Ease of preparation: easy

CRANBERRY PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
• Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
• Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

CRANBERRY-WALNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat sugar, eggs, oil, extracts, and orange zest together in a large bowl.
• Combine flour and baking powder; stir into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Form each piece into a roll the length of your cookie sheet. Use the parchment paper to help flatten the roll to about 1/2-inch thickness.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool onto a wire rack until safe to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Slice rolls crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices back on the cookie sheet, cut-side up, and continue baking until lightly toasted, 5 to 7 minutes per side.

DRIED CRANBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, 2 eggs and almond extract in large bowl until well blended. Mix in flour mixture, then dried cranberries. Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each piece into 2 1/2-inch-wide, 9 1/2-inch-long, 1-inch-high log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush egg white glaze on top and sides of each log.
• Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 35 minutes. Cool completely on sheet on rack. Maintain oven temperature. Transfer logs to work surface. Discard parchment. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same sheet. Bake 10 minutes; turn biscotti over. Bake until just beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Transfer biscotti to rack.
• Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth. Remove from over water. Using fork, drizzle chocolate over biscotti. Let stand until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Freeze in airtight container. Thaw at room temperature.)

CINNAMON HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; mix into the egg mixture. Stir in the hazelnuts. Shape dough into two equal logs approximately 12 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
• Bake for about 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden and the center is firm. Remove from oven to cool on the pans. When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet.
• Bake for an additional 10 minutes, turning over once. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

PUMPKIN SEED CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat first five ingredients until well blended. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture; mix just until moistened (dough will be sticky). Stir in pumpkin seeds and cranberries., Divide dough in half. On a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, shape each portion into a 12x2-in. rectangle using lightly floured hands. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes., Carefully remove rectangles to wire racks; cool 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 3/4-in. slices. Return to baking sheets, cut side down. , Bake until firm, about 5 minutes. Turn; bake until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

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.

CRANBERRY WALNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla; add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in walnuts and cranberries (dough will be sticky)., Divide dough in half. On a greased baking sheet, with lightly floured hands, shape each half into a 10x2-1/2-in. rectangle. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. , Carefully remove to wire racks; cool 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1-in. slices. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over biscotti. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

CRANBERRY-HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°; Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat eggs and sugar in bowl until thick.
• Beat in peel and vanilla.
• Slowly beat in flour, baking soda and salt.
• Beat in cranberries and nuts.
• Using floured hands, divide dough into 2 balls.
• Flatten each to 1 inch thickness.
• Brush beaten egg whites.
• Sprinkle with additional sugar.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, reduce heat to 320° and cut on a diagonal line every 3/4 inches.
• Arrange cut sides down on baking sheet.
• Bake until bottoms are brown about 7 minutes.

HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Variations-------------.
• GINGER: halve the amount of the nuts and add 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1/3 cup minced candied ginger and 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger.
• Omit the hazelnut liquer and add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
• ORANGE:Add 3 tablespoons grated orange zest and use orange liquer instead of hazelnut.
• CHOCOLATE: Increase the amount of cocoa to 1/2 cup, increase the liquer to 1/4 cup.
• Decrease nuts by 1/3 and add 1 cup white chocolate chopped, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
• LEMON-PINE NUT: Omit the nuts, cocoa and liquer.
• Use lightly toasted pine nuts and add 1 1/2 tablespoons each of grated lemon rind and lemon juice.
• COFFEE: Using the hazelnut or almond recipe, add 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules.
• Also add 2 teaspoons ground cardamon or cinnamon.
• Halve the amount of the nuts and add 1 cup chopped dried apricots and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Preheat the oven to 350'F (180'C or Gas mark 4).
• Place half of the hazelnuts and ALL of the sugar in a blender (or food processor) and process until the nuts are finely chopped.
• Place in a bowl.
• Coarsley chop the rest of the nuts and add to bowl along with the dry ingredients.
• In another bowl, blend the eggs, liquer and butter.
• Stir into the dry ingredients and knead gently with your hands to form a dough.
• Divide the dough in half and on lightly greased baking trays, form the dough into 2- 14 inch rolls- 3" wide and 1" thick.
• Bake at 350'F for 40 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Cut with a serrated knife into 1/2" slices.
• Return the slices to the baking trays.
• Place them UPRIGHT and SPACED WELL APART.
• Lower the oven to 300'F and bake for another 20 minutes until crisp and dry- but NOT brown.
• Cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED CHERRY-HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in top third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Using handheld electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in very large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time just until blended. Mix in orange peel, baking soda and salt. Add 3 cups flour, hazelnuts and dried cherries; stir until well blended. Add 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until well incorporated.
• Transfer dough to floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Knead each piece until dough holds together well. Form each piece into 9-inch-long by 3-inch-wide log. Place 2 logs on each of 2 large ungreased baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs are golden and feel firm when tops are gently pressed, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, about 55 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheets 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Using long wide spatula, transfer logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices cut side down on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until light golden, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to racks and cool completely.
• Stir chocolate in large bowl set over saucepan of boiling water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 cut side of each biscotti into melted chocolate to about 1/4-inch depth. Gently shake off excess chocolate. Place biscotti, chocolate side up, on baking sheets. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. Dip pastry brush in cocoa, then lightly brush cocoa over chocolate on each biscotti. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight containers up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)

ORANGE HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine the nuts, flour and baking powder.
• In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and orange rind. Stir this into the flour mixture, forming a stiff dough.
• Shape the dough into 2 logs, each about 1" in diameter.
• Place on an ungreased baking sheet (I do use parchment paper-personal preference) and brush the tops with the egg white.
• Bake @ 350* for 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then slice diagonally into 1/2" slices. Place slices on baking sheet.
• Lower oven temperature to 300* and bake the cookies for 25 more minutes, until crisp and golden.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE, ORANGE AND HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place hazelnuts in a resealable plastic bag; crush nuts using a mallet or rolling pin., Beat egg, sugar and milk until light and thick; add vanilla. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir in orange zest. Gradually beat into egg mixture (dough will be thick). Fold in chocolate chips and crushed hazelnuts by hand., On an ungreased baking sheet, shape dough into a 9x5-in. rectangle. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool on pans on wire racks until firm, 5-10 minutes. , Reduce oven setting to 325°. Transfer baked rectangle to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut crosswise into 1/2-in. slices. Place on baking sheet, cut sides down. Return to oven and bake until crisp, 6-8 minutes on each side. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.,

RUM-DRUNK CRANBERRY HAZELNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine the cranberries and rum and microwave for about a minute. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so that the cranberries can get a nice, steady buzz.
• In a food processor (Unless you really like working with a mortar and pestle for a long time) combine the hazelnuts with the margarine until it has a rough paste consistency.
• Stir together the sugars in a large mixing bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla extract and mix them with your hazelnut 'butter'.
• Sift together the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry stuff to the wet stuff a little bit at a time. Do some light stretching and get ready for a really good workout.
• When all of the flour mixture has made it into the sugar mixture, pop your dough ball in the fridge for about an hour or so.
• Roll the dough into little balls (about a spherical inch, maybe). Mix the reserved sugar, crushed hazelnuts, and cranberries in a small dish and press the dough spheres into dough patties in the mixture.
• Put the dough patties on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat if you've got it and bake each batch for roughly 8-10 minutes at 375°F You don't really need to worry about too much spreading as the nuts hold the melting point of the dough up pretty high. Cool the finished product completely on a cooling rack.
• Dunk these babies in some milk and revel in the deliciousness you've just created. Good job!

PECAN CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Finely chop half the pecans, leaving the remaining pecans as halves.
• Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the baking powder, flour, sugar and salt.
• Set aside.
• In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla.
• Add to dry ingredients and mix until sticky dough is formed.
• Stir in pecans, cranberries and lemon zest.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Divide dough in half.
• With one half, scoop out small amounts of dough with a wooden spoon and form a rough log directly on the parchment paper.
• With floured hands, shape rough log into a smooth log which measures 9 inches long by 3 inches wide.
• Repeat with second half of dough, placing it about 4-5 inches away from first log.
• Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
• In the meantime, reduce oven temperature to 275F degrees.
• On cutting board, with serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices.
• Place pieces, cut side down, on baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly toasted.
• Turn cookies over and bake for 20 minutes longer or until slightly dry.
• Cool on wire rack then store in an airtight container.