Clever Kitchen: Cherry Chocolate Chip Biscotti Recipe

I created this recipe a few Christmas' ago and love adapting it for each season.  These are not your typical bland, rock solid biscotti - they are packed with flavor and very easy to make!  My whole family loves them (and eat them like cookies).  I adapted this recipe from a Holiday Biscotti recipe.

• Ingredients

2 c Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) Butter, softened
1 tsp Orange Zest (roughly 1 orange)
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 c Milk Chocolate Chips
2/3 c Dried Cherries, roughly chopped

• Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.

Whisk together flour and baker powder; set aside.  Beat sugar, butter, orange zest, and salt in a large bowl.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until light and fluffy.  Slowly add flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and dried cherries.

Form dough into a 13" x 4" log on prepared baking sheet (it helps if you place a piece of plastic wrap over the top and form it using the plastic wrap - prevents it from sticking to your hands; just be sure to remove the plastic wrap before you bake it).  Place on middle rack of oven and bake for 40 minutes or until light golden.  Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes.

Carefully transfer to cutting board and cut into 1/2" slices.  Arrange on baking sheet and put back in the oven.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until pale golden.  Transfer to a rack and cool.  Store in an airtight container for immediate consumption or wrap in foil and freeze for up to 3 weeks.

• Variation: 

You can substitute the dried cherries for dried cranberries or dried blueberries and the orange zest for lemon zest, if you would prefer.  Just as yummy.

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* You can find dried cherries with the other dried fruit at your local store (raisins, cranberries, etc)