Dark Chocolate Cherry Biscotti Food

DARK CHOCOLATE & DRIED CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In one bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract until blended.
• Pour the egg mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until mixed.
• Stir in the cherries and chocolate and then dump the mixture onto a lightly floured counter or cutting board.
• Knead a minute or two by hand until the dough comes together.
• Form into one long log about 14-inches long (for long biscotti), or two smaller logs about 8-inches long and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake about 25 minutes, or until the bottom is lightly browned, and the top feels set.
• Cool 10 minutes and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Use a serrated knife the cut the log into 1-inch slices.
• Lay the biscotti flat, side by side on the baking sheet and bake 10 minutes.
• Turn the biscotti over and bake another 7 to 8 minutes until lightly browned. (The biscotti will crisp up as they cool)
• Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and cool completely before storing in an airtight 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.

DRIED CHERRY AND ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla.
• Gently mix in the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, fold in the almonds and dried cherries.
• Divide the dough in half and roll the dough into 2 logs. If the dough is sticky, dust with a little flour. Roll the logs to the length of a sheet pan. Beat the egg white with a splash of water. Brush the logs with the egg white and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Transfer to a sheet pan and place at least 3 inches apart. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven let cool for 10 minutes. Remove logs to a cutting board and slice on the bias about 3/4 inch thick. Lay the biscotti back on the sheet pan and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. This will harden the biscotti. Cool completely on a rack.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Dip each biscotti or pretzel in the chocolate to cover half of each and then dip in the sprinkles or candy cane pieces. Set each piece on the lined cookie sheet to allow the chocolate to harden. Store in a cool place in air-tight containers. Try not to eat them all at the same time.
• Bring a saucepan with 1-inch of water in it to a boil. Put the chocolate in a large metal or heatproof glass mixing bowl and place on top of the saucepan with boiling water. Pay careful attention that the mixing bowl does not touch the surface of the boiling water. Stir the chocolate until it is almost completely melted. Remove it from the saucepan and continue stir until the chocolate is completely melted. This entire process should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes.

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.

BISCOTTI WITH DRIED CHERRIES, CHOCOLATE AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking powder and salt. In a large bowl beat together the sugar, eggs, oil, orange zest and vanilla extract until well combined. In batches add the dry ingredients until the mixture forms a dough. Beat in the cherries, almonds and chocolate.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead several times. Shape into a log about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut 1/2-inch diagonal slices. Arrange cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the biscotti until golden, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE WALNUT-CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk the first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, whisk 5 eggs and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chips and cherries. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead gently until dough forms (dough will be sticky)., Using floured hands, divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each portion into an 8x3-in. rectangle on parchment-lined baking sheets. Beat remaining egg; brush over tops. Bake until firm to the touch, 30-35 minutes. Cool on pans on wire racks until firm, 10-15 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 300°. Transfer baked rectangles to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 3/4-in. slices. Place on baking sheets, cut side down. Bake until crisp, 10-12 minutes on each side. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

DARK-CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper; spray paper lightly with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
• In medium bowl, beat water, vanilla, egg and egg white with whisk until well blended. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; stir until all dry ingredients are moistened. (Dough will be crumbly.)
• Onto floured surface, carefully turn out crumbly dough; knead until a solid dough forms. Shape dough into 16-inch log; place on cookie sheet. Flatten log until about 1/2 inch thick.
• Bake 25 minutes. Transfer biscotti loaf to cooling rack; cool 10 minutes.
• Cut loaf diagonally into 1-inch slices. Return slices, cut side down, to cookie sheet.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F; bake 10 minutes. Turn slices; bake 10 minutes longer. Place slices on cooling rack; cool completely, about 20 minutes. (Biscotti will harden as they cool.)

DRIED CHERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Lightly grease one cookie sheet (spray oil works well for this).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Blend flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until dough is formed.
• Stir in cherries and almonds.
• Turn the dough out on lightly floured surface and knead several times. Using the greased cookie sheet as a surface, divide the dough in half and form into two flat logs about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
• Let cool directly on the baking sheet resting on a rack for 10 minutes.
• Lower heat to 325°F.
• On a cutting board, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces.
• Put back into oven for 5 minutes.
• Turn over and bake 5 more minutes.
• Remove from cookie sheet and cool on baking rack.
• Store in airtight container.

CHERRY ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Stir dried cherries and amaretto liqueur together in a saucepan over medium heat until the amaretto comes to a simmer; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid for later use.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper. Beat butter with 1 cup sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat 3 eggs into butter-sugar mixture, one at a time, blending in each egg before adding the next. Stir reserved cherry liquid and vanilla extract into the wet ingredients.
• Beat butter with 1 cup sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat 3 eggs into butter-sugar mixture, one at a time, blending in each egg before adding the next. Stir reserved cherry liquid and vanilla extract into the wet ingredients.
• Stir flour mixture into the wet ingredients a little at a time to form a smooth dough. Gently fold cherries and almonds into dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, divide in half, and form each half into a log 12 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. Gently press the logs with your fingers to flatten to a thickness of 3/4 inch. Transfer loaves to the prepared baking sheets, brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle each with 1 1/2 tablespoon white sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the loaves are golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer loaves to wire racks and cool for 20 minutes. Use a sharp knife to slice each loaf on the diagonal into 16 pieces. Transfer the biscotti to baking sheets. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Bake in the oven for 8 minutes; flip biscotti and bake until crisp and lightly browned, about 8 more minutes.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk the first 5 ingredients. In another bowl, whisk 5 eggs and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chips and cherries. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead gently until dough forms (dough will be sticky)., Using floured hands, divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each portion into an 8x3-in. rectangle on parchment-lined baking sheets. Beat remaining egg; brush over tops. Bake until firm to the touch, 30-35 minutes. Cool on pans on wire racks until firm, 10-15 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 300°. Transfer baked rectangles to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 3/4-in. slices. Place on baking sheets, cut side down. Bake until crisp, 10-12 minutes on each side. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

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.