Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Biscotti are crunchy, twice-baked oval-shaped cookies. Compared to many store-bought biscotti, these are more tender and not as sugary-sweet. Plus, when you make your own you can hand-select the ingredients.

Servings: 36

Ingredients:

3/4 cup finely chopped almonds
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large Organic Valley Eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast almonds in single layer on baking sheet, tossing once or twice, 5-10 minutes. Cool.

2. Grease a clean baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Using a second bowl, beat eggs with extracts and lemon and orange zests. Stir egg mixture into dry mixture until nearly incorporated; stir in almonds and dried cranberries until sticky dough forms.

3. Dump dough onto floured surface, divide it in half and shape it into two smooth 2-inch-thick logs. Place the logs four inches apart on baking sheet. Bake in top half of oven until golden, 30-35 minutes.

4. Remove from oven; reduce temperature to 300 degrees. After logs have cooled 10 minutes, used a serrated knife to cut them on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices on the baking sheet and continue to bake them, turning each biscotti halfway through baking, until crisp but not darkened, about 20 minutes.

5. Transfer biscotti to racks; cool thoroughly. Store airtight.