Spiced Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Biscotti is one of those things that once you've made it yourself, you will never buy it ever again.  We've been led to believe that it's the cookie you have to soak to enjoy, something that can't be enjoyed on it's own.  It does not have to be this way.

This biscotti is crunchy, but not "I'm going to chip a tooth" crunchy.  But it won't fall apart in your cup of tea either.  It's nothing like the stuff you find by the cash register at Starbucks.

Spiced Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Adapted from a recipe posted at Vanilla Garlic

3/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
Zest from 1 orange

To Make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.  Let the butter and eggs come to room temperature.  Cream together butter and sugar until the mixture is light in color.  Add the eggs and extract and beat until combined well.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly add the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined.  Fold in the cranberries and orange zest.

On the baking sheet, shape the dough into 2 logs, approximately 12 inches long.  Flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.  The dough will be very sticky.  Try to make the logs into perfect rectangles to ensure even baking.

Bake the logs for about 30 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and the centers are firm.  Remove the pans from the oven and allow the loaves to cool for approximately 10 minutes.  When the loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice them into 1/2 inch slices.

Turn the slices on their side and bake for 5 minutes.  Turn over the biscotti and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.  For crispier biscotti,  leave them in an uncovered container for a day or so.