Monday, April 26, 2010

Apricot Almond Biscotti

Biscotti are genius. I mean, who would have thought if we used the Italian word for cookie we could eat our favorite treats for breakfast? I wonder if Italians say “cookie” to ease their breakfast guilt? Ok, so probably not.

Anyway, I adore this biscotti recipe so much I don’t make it very often. They’re too dangerous to my shrinking pants to have sitting around the house. A couple are fine, but I’m much too fond of these things. On those rare days there's apricot almond biscotti here I tend to brew a large pot of coffee, and God forbid I let good coffee and excellent biscotti go to waste. Instead it tends to go to waist! Unless I can get them out the door and into the innocent hands of unbeknownst friends quickly enough.

Apricot Almond Biscotti
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup almonds, toasted and chopped into large pieces
¾ cup finely snipped dried apricots (toss in a couple tablespoons of flour so they don't sink to the bottom of your cookies)

1. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 second. Add sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon; beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, almonds, and apricots. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill until easy to handle.

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. Shape each portion into a 9-inch log. Place 4 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten logs slightly until about two inches wide.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let logs on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Cool logs on a cookie sheet on a wire rack for 1 hour. Save the parchment to reuse.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. With a serrated knife, cut each log diagonally into ½ to ¾ inch slices (picture above). Lay slices cut side down on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 8 to 10 more minutes until dry and crisp. Transfer cookers to cooling rack to cool.

Recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, 1998, with slightly rewritten instructions for clarity. Picture by Laura Flowers.


20 comments:

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Oooh... breakfast... I like the way your mind reasons. So if I go by your standards, I guess that means I can eat Panna Cotta for breakfast tomorrow.

:)
ButterYum

Stargazerss said...

I just bought some dried apricots so I'm good to go. I love biscotti any time of day with good coffee!

Levi said...

These look yummy. I love the tartness of the apricot with anything sort of sweet-ish. I'll bet these are good.
Too bad I'm too lazy to make them. Darn it.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Biscotti are my alltime favorite comfort cookie. I love your version with apricots and will have to try them soon.

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

These look delicious!

Designs on 47th Street said...

LOL! I also like your way of thinking. It is so true...biscotti and breakfast seem to be acceptable. I LOVE biscotti. I also love apricot. Definitely copying this yummy recipe, but like you said will have to find someone to help us eat them. Thank you~ Donna

CinnamonAndSass said...

Those look beautiful; this post just reminded me that I have not made biscotti since I was a kid, I think I was twelve. It was Mother's Day and I wanted to make something really fancy for my mom, so I found a biscotti recipe and filled up a basket with them to surprise her with in the morning (breakfast in bed). Lord only knows if they were any good! How funny that I was not intimidated by such a thing at that age yet have not made biscotti since because I think it must be hard to make them come out well.

Memória said...

I love how bright your photos are and the fact that you used the word "biscotti" correctly haha. Great shot!

notyet100 said...

looks delicious,any substitute for egg

Cherine said...

Those biscotti look irresistible!

bunkycooks said...

These look delicious! I don't need any baked goods in my house either, but these might convince me otherwise!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

what a great biscotti!!! I love the apricots in them!

VegeCooking Club said...

Biscotti is one of the best things ever with coffee. Mmmmm...heaven.

Cristie said...

The apricots in your cookie sound wonderful. I'm not sure I've had a biscotti with apricots-- very nice, and as you say dangerous.

Unknown said...

My shrinking pants want to thank you! LOL....this sounds incredible and dangerously good

Sarah said...

Delicious! This one is one for the bookmark, i'm sure it will appear at my house very soon.

Sue said...

I have only made biscotti once, and it was for a gift. I will definitely have to try it again! I wonder if fresh apricots from my tree(not here yet!)will work? :)

Diary of a Smart Black Woman said...

"shrinking pants" - love it! I also love that there are apricots in these (my hubster's favorite) - never heard of apricot biscotti before. Thanks for sharing! - Toya

Katrina said...

I just made Dorie Greenspan's Lenox Almond Biscotti for the second time and LOVE it. And you're right, it's totally dangerous. I would love it even more with the apricots!

Myrna said...

Great minds think alike...I would never let a good pot of coffee and excellent biscotti like these ever go to waste! Thanks for sharing=)

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