Orange-Cinnamon-Pecan-Currant Biscotti

 Let's talk biscotti.

Let's talk orange-cinnamon-pecan-currant biscotti.

Let's talk orange-cinnamon-pecan-currant biscotti like we would an old friend from our hopscotch days.

While Old Friend has stretched in height and maturity, Old Friend is still Old Friend who froze you in freeze tag.

Who let you win at playground tetherball.

Who mailed you Valentine's Day brooches, Easter Bunny stickers, and leprechaun hairbands, all wrapped in crinkled cellophane.

Though her visage be different, Old Friend's spirit is the same.

Old Friend now reads Hemingway, not Seuss,
paints her nails dark red, not glitter-glue pink,
munches on multi grain cornflakes, not Lucky Charms.

This biscotti is like running into Old Friend on a quiet Thursday and finding out Old Friend now studies at a liberal arts college back East, sips wine on Sunday evenings, and works part-time at a New Hampshire bookstore.

This biscotti recipe is incorporates old and new.

It takes the plain biscotti we love and imbues it with jazzy pantry pearls.

A refined, cultured version of a favorite biscuit cookie.

The base of the biscotti is infused with the lyrics of orange zest and extract, polka-dotted with tiny bursts of chewy currants, spiced with cinnamon freckles, and speckled by mahogany chunks of pecan.

The cookie is crispy and crunchy, wonderful for dipping into a warm cup of tea or coffee. The ingredients and flavors work so well together. The orange and the cinnamon are the background drawing: always there for swirls of flavor. The pecans and currants are the humble stars: adding richness, depth, and contrast.

Orange-Cinnamon-Pecan-Currant Biscotti Recipe (Adapted from baking.about.com)

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ----
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons orange extract
• 1 tspn cinnamon
• ----
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 cup pecan pieces, lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup currants

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine first set of ingredients with a wire whisk. Set aside. Cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add in sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time and then extract. Gradually, add flour mixture to butter mixture. Combine completely. Hand stir-in orange zest, cinnamon, currants and pecans.

Evenly divide dough into 2 portions. Shape into 12 inch logs. Place on cookie sheet. Flatten tops until they are 1-inch tall. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Place baking sheet on cooling rack. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Carefully, cut loaves diagonally into 1/2 to 1-inch slices. Line slices back on baking sheet. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and turn cookies over. Finish baking for another 5 minutes. Cool Orange Pecan Biscotti on baking sheets for 2 minutes and remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 24 Orange Pecan Biscotti Cookies

This log of biscotti dough looks like my dog…Just wanted to share that with you...

Happy Baking!

-Susan