White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Oh yes, I did it again – another sweet recipe. Sometimes I just cannot resist. This time my goal was to make my first biscotti with whole grain flours and less refined sugars. That incorporates some healthy aspects, right? Maybe – but not after I decided to dunk them in white chocolate. Yes, you heard that correctly. Delish!

I remember going to cafes when I was younger, before I had ever experienced my first cup of coffee, and staring at the glass canisters full of biscotti. Never did I have any urge to try this crunchy cookie - until recent years.

I first experimented with a recipe that was going to be my basis for the biscotti and it turned out terribly. The ratio of dry to wet ingredients was way off and it was very frustrating. So I decided to jot down a few notes, and create my own version. Ultimately, I was impressed with the way everything turned out. They are perfect to eat on their own, or even better – dunking them in a hot drink. The white chocolate tastes great as it melts and infuses a warm cup of coffee. More notably, the underlying citrus flavour might give you an excuse to munch on one for breakfast – but I didn’t just advise that.

For this recipe, I used a mixture of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I would have much rather used a whole wheat pastry flour, in replacement of the all-purpose, but was unable to find it in the northern grocery stores at the time. A combination of the two flours is essential or you will end up with very dense biscotti. In addition, natural cane sugar was used rather than a refined white sugar. So give these Italian double-baked cookies a try, it might be a great recipe to try for the fall – I was just too excited to wait that long.

White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Almond Biscotti:

1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
¾ cup all-natural cane sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp orange zest
3 large eggs
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh orange juice

Glaze:
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup all-natural cane sugar
340 g good quality white chocolate (optional, but you won’t regret it)

Preheat your oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cane sugar, baking powder, salt, almonds, cranberries, and zest.

Whisk together the eggs and olive oil by hand. Gradually stir in the orange juice until combined.

Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and slowly add your liquid mixture. Stir and form a dough. Note that the dough should be stiff, never gooey, and the flour should be combined.

Divide the dough into two loaves – you may need to flour your hands, although it should be fairly easy to work with. Flatten and shape the dough into approximately 4-5 inch wide and 9-10 inch long loaves (no need to be exact, the irregular shape can add some character).

Brush on the beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Place the dough on the cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. The loaves should be golden in colour and just slightly firm to the touch (remember you will be baking them once more). Let them cool completely, this will help you slice the loaves.

Once cooled, cut into ½ inch slices. Again, this does not have to be perfect. Biscotti are traditionally this thin but if you prefer a heartier version that is fine too (mine varied). Place the cookies back on the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes per side. You want them to be a golden brown (they will appear slightly darker due to the whole wheat flour) and fairly dried out (so they have a nice crunch and withstand some dipping in your coffee). Just remember that they tend to firm up even more while cooling once again.

After cooling the cookies for a second time, place a bowl over a pot of simmering water (never boiling water, you do not want to burn the chocolate). Also, make sure that your bowl does not touch the surface of the water. Then add the chocolate – I did this in batches, continuing to add more chocolate as I needed it. Stir until it is fully melted. You can either dunk half of the biscotti in the chocolate, or use a knife and spread the chocolate onto the cookie (this was much easier for me). Set the dipped cookies on a sheet of parchment paper and let the white chocolate completely cool until it hardens. Store them in an airtight container.