Saturday, May 16, 2009

Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

Apparently, there were a lot of unhappy blog readers when I made the almond biscotti instead of the chocolate ones. In order to correct the error of my ways [well, at least in this case] I have ponied up the effort to make another batch of biscotti. Now I desperately need somebody to come eat some of this biscotti before I eat the entire batch.

Kevin ate one and he didn't mention if he liked it or not. All he said was, "This is really chocolaty!" If you kinda, sorta like chocolate, don't attempt this recipe. If you are a tried and true chocolate lover, this is the recipe for you.



Somehow, I get the feeling that when it said, "sprinkle each log with a little sugar" this isn't what it had in mind.

This was supposed to be the top picture, but that chair looks really silly. Doh! I don't care if the chair is there or not. I still want to eat the biscotti and drink the milk. 'Cause if you don't have some milk handy, you will wish you did.


This was another optional photo. The grass is finally green, so I really wanted it to be this picture, but it took all the richness out of the biscotti. It is such a dark chocolate that it is almost black.

Chocolate Biscotti
2 C flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 stick butter, room temperature
1 C sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 C chocolate chips or chunks, chopped
1/3 C dried cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put the rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a cookie paddle) mix the butter and sugar at a medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl, for 2 more minutes until it is light, smooth, and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.Reduce the speed to low. Mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches until just combined. It will be sticky and ball up around the beaters. Toss in the dried fruit and chocolate chunks until just blended.

Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a rectangle about 12 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 1 inch tall. Don't worry about making it completely even. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes, until they are just slightly firm. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool the logs for 20 minutes on the baking sheet. Leave the oven on.

Carefully move the logs with a spatula to a cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch slices with a bread knife. Stand the biscotti up on the parchment paper, with the bottom of the log still on the bottom, and a little room between each slice. Bake for another 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool to room temperature.

1 comment:

Valerie said...

These look great. I hope I can try them soon. I'm headed to look at more of your recipes now.