Spiced Almond Biscotti

I guess you could say I have a slight "thing" for coffee. I've worked for a major, globally known coffee company for the last 10 years. So in looking for my next baking project, I set out for something to go with my favourite coffee. What better accompaniment is there to go with a steaming cup of joe than a nice crisp piece of biccotti. Biscotti are twice baked, Italian cookies that have warm, rich flavours in them that compliment coffee well. This particular biscotti is spicy, nutty and not too sweet. Perfect for dipping!


ENJOY!

Spiced almond biscotti

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses (or treacle if you are in Aus)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 cup white chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees. Beat together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs. When combined, blend in the molasses. In a large bowl, sift together flour and all. Add butter and sugar mixture to flour mixture along with nuts and mix until combined well. Divide the dough in half and turn onto a lightly greased baking sheet. With greased hands, shape each half into a log approximately 3 or 4 inches wide and 1 inch high. Make sure the logs are at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 300 F (150 C) degrees. Cool Biscotti for 10 minutes then remove them from the pan and place them on a cutting board.Carefully cut each log into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet, cut side down.Place the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.Remove the pan from the oven, turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 10 minutes on the other side.Remove from oven and let cool.When the cookies are cool, melt white chocolate. When the chocolate is smooth place it in a ziploc sandwich bag and seal the bag shut. Squeeze the chocolate into a lower corner and snip 1/8 - 1/4 inch from the corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out onto the cookies in a zigzag motion for decoration.