spiced cranberry biscotti

Photos: heysweetie8

Made without butter or oil, these crunchy Italian biscuits are a delicious, low-fat treat to accompany your coffee or cappuccino. This recipe calls for dried cranberries but you can replace it with a cup of chopped macadamias, pistachios, or even dark chocolate. 


Makes 15


Ingredients:
1 egg
2 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp water
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients and set them aside. In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (flour through cranberries). Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until you've formed a soft dough, adding more flour as necessary.

2. Knead the dough for about 10 strokes to bring the dough together. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 5 cm wide log, using more flour if necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Place each log on a baking-paper lined tray and bake for 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees.

3. Allow the logs to cool for 15 minutes and carefully transfer them to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut each log into about 15 slices, 1 ½ cm thick. Return the slices to the baking tray, cut side facing down. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning once halfway through the baking time. 

4. Remove the biscotti from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.