Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti with Cherries

 Biscottis will always have a special place in my heart :)  It all started out with Costco's soft-baked almond biscottis.  Now that I think back, I'm not even sure they were true biscottis...I have never had soft biscottis before!  But tasty they were!  After Costco discontinued them, I tried to find a suitable substitute, but no biscotti came close!  They were SO hard!  It was around this time that I figured out biscottis were supposed to be rock hard!  And once dipped in a steaming cup of hot coffe, tea, or chocolate, the biscotti magically becomes soft enough to eat without breaking a tooth!  I am always amazed at how soft the biscotti becomes when dipped for the shortest of time!

I have been meaning to try my hand at making biscottis for the longest time now.  I really have no idea why I never tried them out!  I finally had a  reason to make biscottis when my cousin J emailed me and asked if I would like to help him develop some new products for his business.  I had to think about it for a lil bit, as he chose the busiest time of the year for me to be inventive!  Non-the-less, I decided to jump into it full force.  J had wanted some new breakfast items that he could offer to his clients.  I came up with ideas, and threw it to J to see what his customers would think.  You see, I don't do research...that was his job ;) My job was to be creative and to come up with the product.  Well, one breakfasty item I had told him was biscottis.   Although biscottis were not "fill-your-stomach" kind of breakfast items, it is a fun product that many people associate with breakfast.  It is easily transportable and will keep for a very long time!  All of which were very desirable to J.  Alas, J didn't have as much confidence as I did in these biscottis....but when put to the test, my biscottis were the most sought after from all other items presented to the clients!  Take that J...and have more confidence in me! ;)  So, finally, this is my chance to make some biscottis!  This was my very first time making biscottis, so I really didn't know what to expect!  The recipe seemed simple enough.  In fact, the recipe didn't call for dried cherries...I happen to have some on hand and decided that cherries go with almonds and chocolate pretty darn well...so in cherries went! :)

I would have to say that these biscottis were really very delishous.  Adding the cherries in was a great decision as it melded together with the almonds and chocolate like one big happy family!  Not to mention, it breaks up some of the rich sweetness the chocolate provided.  This first batch was a bit too crunchy for me to enjoy on its own without coffee; however, dipped in coffee, it was a wonderful biscotti.  Next time, I plan on shortening the baking time of the second bake to produce a softer biscotti.  Make a batch and let me know what you think!

Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti with Cherries

Makes about 16 biscottis

Ingredients:
3/4 cups (110 grams) Whole Almonds, toasted and chopped coursely
2/3 cups (135 grams) Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs, Large
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 3/4 cups (225 grams) All Purpose Flour
4 ounces (110 grams) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped in pieces
1/3 cups Dried Cherries (I didn't really measure, just threw in a good handful)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. 
 Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
 Once toasted, let the almonds cool and then chop coarsely and set aside.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. In your electric mixer bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on high speed until it is thick, pale, and fluffy.  You will know it is at that stage when you lift the beaters and the batter will fall back in slow ribbons.

5. Beat in vanilla extract.

6. Add the whisked flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat until combined.

7. Fold in the chopped almonds, chocolate, and cherries.

8. Transfer the dough to your parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet and form into a log (about 12 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide).

9. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the biscotti log is firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

10. Transfer the log to  cutting board and cut it into 3/4 inch slices, on the diagonal.

11. Place the biscotti slices on the baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes per side.  Remove from oven, cool, and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy! :)