Biscotti with Ginger, Cranberries, Orange, and Cashews

When I first saw this recipe on Olga’s site, Mango and Tomato (Go there and browse, both her recipes and her photography are great!), I knew I was going to make it and I knew who I was going to make it for. My mom.

This recipe just screamed her name. My mom enjoys a glass of tea two to three times a day. Crazy, right? Okay, maybe not crazy, but I’m a coffee girl. I thought this biscotti would go perfectly with tea. She also loves ginger. I’m getting there with ginger, but still only like it in moderation. I knew one thing for certain, my hubby would not be wild about these. In fact, I baked off a dozen of these cookies for him because I felt bad knowing he probably wouldn’t enjoy the biscotti. What’s that? You would like to give me the Wife of the Year award? Thank you, I’m humbled!

I did make some modifications to Olga’s recipe, but definitely still go take a look at her site (she used pistachios!), and take in her beautiful photography.

Biscotti with Ginger, Cranberries, Orange, and Cashews
Adapted from Mango Tomato

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup unsalted cashews, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
zest from one orange
1 cup dried cranberries
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Mix together flours, sugar, baking powder, cashews, ginger, and cranberries.
3. In separate bowl, mix together eggs, orange zest, and vanilla.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. This is a fairly dry dough, so I started with a spoon, but ended up pouring it onto my cutting board and combining the ingredients with my (clean) hands.
5. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
6. Form the dough into two flat logs on the parchment paper. It spreads a little, but not much, so make these slightly smaller than the width that you would like your biscotti to be.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let the biscotti cool completely before slicing into ~1/4 inch thick slices.
8. Lay the slices flat on a baking sheet (you can use the same on, with the parchment), and bake for 7-10 minutes, flip each one over, and then continue to bake for an additional 7-10 minutes.

Verdict: These were great! Now that I’ve lost my biscotti virginity, I can’t wait to try more variations. I’m thinking espresso powder and dark chocolate…

Husband’s take: To my surprise, he did actually try these. He said “they are hard,” but he liked them. I think he will probably stick with the cookies though. My mom loved them! I sent a bunch home with her. As well as a bunch of the crystallized ginger, because I knew I would never use it all.
Changes I would make: None. But I can’t wait to play around with different variations.
Difficulty: Easy! A little time-consuming because you have to bake twice, but very forgiving. I worked around my daughter’s naps and they came out great.