CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY APRICOT WALNUT BISCOTTI

This is a nice dark rich biscotti.  I used special dark cocoa and Starbucks VIA coffee package for the flavor.  Very nice. 


Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

7- 8 Tablespoons butter at room temp.

1½  cups sugar

1/2  cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 T grated orange zest (optional)

1 pkg  Starbucks VIA Ready brew coffee (optional)

1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or less

1 1/4 cup chopped walnuts  or less

1 cup dried cranberries, soaked in water and patted dry

1 cup dried apricots, chopped, soaked in water and patted dry

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Chocolate flavoring:

2 (2 bricks) cubes of semi sweet chocolate cooking bars, 1 T butter (from recipe), melted in microwave on defrost for about 1 minute. 

2 ½ T to 3 1/2 T of the Hersey’s Special dark chocolate cocoa added to the dry.

1 pkg Starbucks VIA Ready brew Italian roast sprinkled into the warm 

cubes chocolate and then added to wet mixture. 

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

DRY

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 

orange zest or peel, cocoa 

and salt. Stir well.

WET

Combine sugar and butter.  Beat. 

Add  eggs and beat well. 

Add vanilla extract and mix. 

Add melted cubes of chocolate.

Mix into flour mixture. 

Add chocolate chips and walnuts, cranberries, apricots. Stir well. Usually stiff so by wooden spoon or your hands.

To shape the dough into a log, lightly sprinkle flour on the work surface, on top of the dough, and on your hands.  Or refrigerate for 30 minutes. Its easy to handle with no additional flour. Butter helps by hardening some.

Use parchment paper for the baking.

Bake logs 28 minutes or until dough pops back up when lightly pressed with a finger.

Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Reduce oven to 300 or less degrees. Using a long serrated knife, cut logs.

Second Baking:  Bake another 15 minutes.

NOTE:  Do not crowd the biscotti slices on the baking sheet for their second baking as they need the hot air to circulate to enable them to crisp up evenly.

Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks.  Or cold tile counter

Yields about 6 dozen biscotti.