Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti-Cookie

My hubby had a hankering for biscotti to go with this great chocolate raspberry coffee, so I located this recipe on KraftFoods.com and played with it just a little bit. The consistency is just a little fluffier than basic biscotti, but it's incredibly tasty.

You'll Need:

2 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 pkg. (6 oz. each) BAKER'S White Chocolate, chopped, divided(OR, 1 bag white chocolate chips)

1/2 cup sweetened dried cherries (or dried cranberries)

1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Lightly grease and flour large baking sheet. Mix flour and baking powder until well blended; set aside.

BEAT butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended after each addition. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the chopped chocolate, cherries and pecans.

FORM a flat loaf with the dough and cut into slices.

BAKE 10 to 12 min. or until lightly browned. Turn hearts over on baking sheet. Bake an additional 10 to 12 min. or until slightly dry and golden brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

MELT remaining chopped chocolate as directed on package. Drizzle over hearts. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Notes: I used cranberries because I had them on hand and due to the sweetness of the chocolate, the tartness of the cranberries is a nice contrast. Don't forget to bake them twice! Oh, and I dipped my biscotti in the remaining chocolate instead of drizzling it. Tasty!

The Great Gingerbread Massacre of 2008

So I tried a new gingerbread method this year because I was feeling kind of lazy and a little intrigued. I bought a mix ( I know, I know!) mostly because it was organic and would save me a little time in the process. However, I learned something very important while baking them. Though the Arrowhead Mills Organic Gingerbread Mix ($4 in stores... organic section) is VERY tasty, the directions say to grease the cookie sheets, which I did, to the result directly above this post. The cookies stuck to the tray and then broke, folded, etc. My husband called it "The Great Cookie Massacre" and you can see why. So, I switched to parchment paper and got the result at the very top.

In short, if you try this mix, I'm recommending parchment paper, not a greased cookie sheet.

Peppermint chocolate cookies

These cookies are courtesy of Rachel Ray magazine. (She's got other great cookie recipes, so go pick up the Dec/Jan issue today!) I've made them twice as gifts and they've gone over well both times. I really like the double chocolate, though for the topping I cheated and used chocolate chips and pre-crushed peppermint pieces.

You'll Need:
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups cofectioner's sugar (I never said these were GOOD for you!)
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
2 3.5 oz. bars dark chocolate, chopped (or one bag of dark chocolate chips, like Ghiradelli)
1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil (for melting the chocolate)
2/3 cup finely crushed candy canes or peppermint candies (or wilton peppermint pieces!)

parchment paper

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioner's sugar until creamy. Then, beat in the egg.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to the mixer about 1/3 at a time.
3. Lay a 16-in. sheet of parchment paper out on the counter, turn out dough onto the surface.
4. Using your hands, form a large (12-inch) cylinder, wrap tightly in the parchment, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Reshape the cylinder and refrigerate for 30 more minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
6. Unwrap the dough and using a sharp knife, slice into 1/3-in-thick rounds. Place about 1-in. apart on cookie sheets and bake until firm, 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely.
7. In a bowl, combine the chocolate and oil, microwave for 30 seconds. Then, stir until smooth. (if chocolate isn't melted, put it in for 10 second intervals until mixture is smooth)
8. Spread a small amount of chocolate onto the top of each cookie, following with peppermint pieces. Allow to cool.
9. Enjoy!

Suggestions/Adaptations
1. The first time I made these I didn't refrigerate them long enough, but they came out fine. If crunched for time, skip the second refrigeration.
2. The recipe calls for adding half the chocolate and the oil to the microwave, and then stirring in the rest of the chocolate pieces, but this didn't seem to work for me, so I just microwave the whole thing in two 30 second rotations, stirring in between.
3. I have also found that wax paper works fine for refrigeration, but don't use it to bake! Instead, just grease your cookie sheet lightly.

Best of luck to you! Enjoy these yummy and festive holiday treats!

Merry Christmas Baking!

Wow, it's been a while. I've definitely tried new things in the past year, but I've been failing to put it up here. Lucky for you, I've compiled a few yummy things I've tried and they're going up in the next post.

I'm keeping my baking to a minimum this year since we're going away for most of the holidays, but I do have a few parties to bring baked goods to, so you're in luck. :)

Oh, and I'll be posting a few of my other successes here as I go on. Lucky you!

Merry baking and enjoy the recipes!