Confessions of A Wanna Be Cook

Dark Chocolate and Dried Cherry Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/2 cup good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs until pale yellow and thick, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Mix in oil and vanilla and almond extracts.
5. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture until just until blended.
6. Stir in cherries, chocolate chips, and pecans.
7. Divide dough in half; turn out onto a greased baking sheet. Shape each portion into a 10”-long log and flatten each into a 1”-wide strip.
8. Bake until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
9. Reduce oven heat to 325°.
10. Transfer strips to a cutting board.
11. Using a serrated knife, cut each strip diagonally into twenty 1/2”-thick slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet.
12. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over and bake 10 minutes longer (cookies will be slightly soft in the center but will harden as they cool).
13. Transfer biscotti to wire racks and let cool.

Cook’s Notes: 

**These were delicious. If you don’t have almond extract then just replace it with vanilla. It still tastes delicious! 

**Don’t freak out when you shape the dough on the pans. It will spread out on the pan when you shape it and when it’s in the oven. THIS IS FINE! 

**I would bake it for only 5 minutes each side during the second bake. It will make them chewier. I baked them for 8 minutes on each side, and they were still easy to eat. just not as much as I would have liked. 

**I found dried cherries at costco if you are having difficulty finding any. 

(Source: bonappetit.com)