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Cranberry and Orange Biscotti

The perfect crunchy biscuit to go with a Christmas coffee. Make your own this year, and double the batch to gift some...

Written by High Life North
Published 13.12.2020

By Dorothy Miles

Cranberry and Orange Biscotti

This recipe is a variation on one of my favourite biscuit recipes: cantucci from Anna Del Conte’s Gastronomy of Italy.
 
I often vary the spices nuts and fruits in them depending on what I fancy. These crunchy biscuits keep for up to three months in an airtight container, so they’re perfect for gifting! Double the recipe for a bumper batch.
 
Makes 20 biscuits 
70g walnuts
100g plain flour 
115g caster sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
zest 1 orange
1 egg
35g dried cranberries
 
1) Preheat the oven to gas 6/200c/180c fan.
2) Weigh the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl. Grate the orange zest in too.
3) Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and crack the egg into it. 
4) Use a fork to whisk the egg, slowly incorporating more and more of the flour into the mixture until a dough starts to form. Once it starts to clump together, use your hand to work the dough until all of the flour is incorporated. 
5) Roughly chop the walnuts then add them to the dough, along with the cranberries. Continue to work the dough until the fruit and nuts are evenly dispersed.
6) Flour a work surface generously and tip the dough onto it. This dough will be very soft and sticky, so you need to flour up your hands too. 
7) Gently shape the dough into a sausage and roll it so that it’s about 5cm thick and 20cm long. Flatten the sausage slightly before transferring to a baking tray that is lined with baking paper. 
8) Bake the biscuit loaf in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until it is slightly risen and turning golden at the edges.
9) Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to gas 3/160c/140fan.
10) After 5-10 minutes, transfer the biscuit loaf to a board and, using a sharp serrated knife, carefully cut 5-7mm thick slices on the diagonal. This will create long, thin biscuits. 
11) Transfer the cut biscuits back onto the prepared baking tray and return them to the oven for 40-50 minutes until they are dry and golden.
12) Allow them to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container where they will keep for 2-3 months. 
 
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