Jeweled biscotti

The baking urge has hit me hard recently, and so I cooked up a plan to bake something every day this week leading up to Thanksgiving. On the day of, it will be plain old pumpkin pie, so I doubt I will have to post that one. :)

I've been making these biscotti for years, and my husband specifically asks for them every year, so this recipe is a keeper in my book! He's not a huge dessert person, but he loves nuts, and I think that's what gets him. Candied cherries and pineapple are only in stores around the holidays, but since they're candied, they actually store well if you want to stock up and make these all year round. (My cherries and pineapple are from last year.)

1 cup almonds
1 cup pistachios
1/3 cup candied cherries
1/3 cup candied pineapple
1/3 cup dry apricots
1/3 cup dry papaya
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two baking sheets.

Bake almonds and pistachios 8-10 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet, let them cool, and chop into small pieces. Chop cherries, pineapple, apricots, and papaya and add to the nuts.

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla on high speed. Add eggs and beat. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl and add to butter mixture. Stir in nuts and fruit by hand.

Divide dough into thirds, rolling each piece into a 12x3-inch roll, or whatever size you prefer. You can make these as wide as you want (giving you long biscotti), just make sure they are always an inch or less in height so the inside bakes evenly with the outside.

Bake 25-30 minutes until firm on a greased baking sheet. They are not supposed to be fully cooked at this point, so don't overdo it! When cool, cut each roll into 3/4-inch-thick pieces with a serrated knife. Be gentle. :)  Lay them out on two greased baking sheets and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until golden. They may seem too soft at this point, but they get harder as they cool.

Note: This recipe is always found online with 1 1/2 tsp. corn syrup mixed in with the eggs. I always hated putting it in when baking these in prior years (because we all know it's bad for you), and finally I just omitted it this year. And...they taste perfectly fine without it and the dough comes together just fine as well. Now I don't know why I didn't try it earlier. It's your choice if you want to put it back in.

These would make perfect holiday gifts for friends and neighbors, with all the festive colors the fruit gives them. I'm thinking of doing a cookie sampler for the neighbors this year, and these will definitely be in there.

xoxo,
Tanya