Dark Chocolate and Cherry Biscotti

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1/4 c. Vegetable oil
1/4 c. Brown sugar
1/4 c. White sugar
2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Eggs
1 c. All purpose flour
3/4 c. Whole wheat flour
1/4 c. Ground flax seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 c. Dried cherries, chopped
1/2 c. 70% Dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Mix oil and sugars together until well combined. Beat in vanilla and the eggs and mix well.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly stir into the egg mixture. The dough will be soft and sticky.

Fold in the cherries and chocolate using a silicone stirring spoon.

Divide the dough in half and form two long skinny logs using your hands.  (Lightly wet your hands if the dough sticks to your fingers.)

Bake for 30-35 min; the logs should be lightly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15-20 min. Meanwhile, reduce the oven heat to 275°F.

Using a non-serrated knife, slice the logs diagonally into 1/2-3/4" slices. Lay them on the sides on the cookie sheet and bake until dry, about 10 min.

Biscottis can be store in air-tight containers.

My comments:

So, this is another one of those "I wasn't going to post it" recipe.  These biscottis really weren't all that great when it first came out of the oven.  I thought the taste was missing something and my mom thought it tasted undercooked.  Also, I went a little overboard and added the whole chocolate bar (100g, which was about 3/4 cup) and the chocolate was so overpowering that I couldn't taste the cherries at all.  I was disappointed because the cherries, by themselves, were so good!!!  I had trouble keeping my son's little hands out of the bag.

Plus, we were going to our friend's house for dinner and I made these for them!!  I was a bit embarrassed that these biscottis didn't turn out but I had nothing else to bring.

But my friends liked them!  They weren't lying because they kept eating them.  :)

When I got home, I had to put away the rest of my biscottis.  I figured I might as well eat a few since I don't want them to go to waste.  I was really surprised by how good these biscottis tasted!!  I mean, they were really really good!!  There was still a lot of chocolate but it wasn't overwhelming.  I can definitely taste the cherries, fruity and sweet with a hint of sour.  The dark chocolate and the cherries paired perfectly.  Whatever that made the biscottis tasted off, it was no longer there.  Perhaps the biscottis just needed to be tempered for a few hours for the flavours to mellow and blend.

I will have to make these again.  They were easy to make and I love the taste.  I still think 100g of dark chocolate was way too much, so I will stick to the 1/2 cup as instructed in this recipe.  Oh, and don't bother with chocolate chips; I definitely recommend buying good quality dark chocolate and chop it up yourself.  It's more work and it makes such a mess everywhere but it is totally worth it.

I recently found a cappuccino biscotti recipe that I have been dying to try.  Maybe sometime this week... If it turns out well, I'll post it!  :)

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Comments

pjcim said…
Hi~ i was surfing & came accross ur site, looking for coffee biscotti, u had mentioned that u were trying it. have u gotten to try it out? looking for that perfect coffee biscotti, & of course our family is Italian. thanx P.J.
17/7/12 9:24 PM
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