To Try Tuesday - Gingerbread Biscotti

OK, so it is To Try Tuesday again.  Why is it that I have hundred's of recipes I want to try but nothing jumps out at me immediately?  I decided on Gingerbread Biscotti because I have not made biscotti in a really long time.  Although it may seem as though it is a little early for this flavor to be making an appearance, I figure that if Macy's, Costco, Sears, etc can all have holiday decorations up in their stores in October, then I can make gingerbread biscotti.

My KitchenAid aka Snow White

Did you know that biscotti means twice-baked?  I first saw this recipe on Recipe Goldmine and thought it sounded really good.  I really like something sweet with my coffee at night and biscotti has just the right mixture of sweet and crunch.  And you can dunk it too!  Although the original recipes calls for some semisweet chocolate chips it really wasn't the flavor I was going for so I decided to omit them.  I had some crystallized ginger and some ginger from Buderim, Australia - which is known for producing the "World's Finest Ginger" - called Naked Ginger so I decided to chop some finely and add that to the biscotti for some extra zing.

A very sticky dough

Another thing I changed about the recipe was part of the preparation.  The original recipe called for adding the butter, sugars, and spices and mixing well.  For me it made more sense to measure out the flour, baking powder, and spices and then add them after adding the eggs to the creamed butter/sugar mixture.  I don't know if it made a difference but it worked for me.

Cut each log on the diagonal

As I said it has been a long time since I last made biscotti, and I don't remember it being quite as sticky as my dough was.  It was so sticky that I ended up adding another 1/2 cup of flour to the mixture.  I used a spatula to get most of the mixture out of the bowl but it was hard work.  I think it would have been easier to use a dough scraper but, of course, I couldn't find mine at the time.  Once I had them shaped into logs and on the Silpat everything else went very smoothly.  I guess I made my logs a little bigger because I only got 24 biscotti.

You can see the pieces of ginger in the biscotti

Once they were fully cooled I placed the white chocolate in the microwave to melt.  If yours decoded to seize like mine did do not panic as all is not lost.  Put your kettle on to boil so you have really hot water and add a little at a time until the mixture comes back together.  The hot water also helps to thin out the chocolate mixture and makes it easier to drizzle over the biscotti.

White Chocolate-Cinnamon Drizzle

Gingerbread Biscotti

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Drizzle

• 6 ounces white baking chips
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and sugars in a bowl. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. 
3. Add flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; mix well.
4. Stir in chopped ginger.
5. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 12" logs. Place logs onto a lightly greased cookie sheet; flatten logs slightly. 
6. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until tops are cracked and logs are golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes on cookie sheet.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Place logs on a cutting surface; cut into 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices with a serrated knife. Place cut side down onto ungreased cookie sheets.
8. Return to oven; bake at 325 degrees F for 9 minutes. Turn slices over and bake 7 minutes more. Cool completely.
9. Drizzle: Microwave white baking chips until melted and smooth; stir in cinnamon. Drizzle over cookies; let set at room temperature until drizzle is firm.

Makes 24 biscotti.

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