Slivered Almond Biscotti

Back in early January, I volunteered to bring the snacks for the February meeting of a Mom's Group that I attend.  I was pretty excited because, well, you know, cooking's my thing.

I was pondering what yummy savory brunch item I was going to whip up as I was leaving the January meeting when one of the leaders of my group said, "Oh and by the way, we'll be having a chocolate fountain next month, so we'll need you to bring foods that can be dipped in chocolate."  Foods that can be dipped in chocolate?  All that came to mind was fresh fruit.  How on earth was I going to express my love of cooking with a plain old platter of strawberries?  I had to make this work.  It was my month to bring the snacks, so bring the snacks I would.  I decided to make biscotti to go with all of the fresh fruit I inevitably had to bring.

Only one problem.  I've never made biscotti.

I decided to reach out to my fellow foodies in the Southern Food Bloggers Community I'm a member of on Facebook.  Jessica, a blogger from Kentucky (check out her blog Urban Sacred Garden, it rocks.), shared with me her Cranberry Almond Biscotti recipe.  I didn't have any cranberries, but that didn't stop me.  The biscotti was perfect for the chocolate fountain and was delish dipped in a nice hot cup of coffee.  I also made my Sugar Coated Pecans and Sweet & Salty Popcorn Balls to go along with the chocolate fountain foods.  All in all, my snacks were a success and I couldn't have been happier.



Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1½ cups slivered almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Combine the olive oil and sugar in mixer.  Add the eggs and continue mixing until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.
4. Stir in the almonds by hand.
5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Divide the dough in half and shape dough into two logs, side by side, on the baking sheet.  To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, wet hands with cold water and handle to dough with wet hands.  (The logs should be approximately ¾ inch thick and 4 inches wide.)
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even cooking.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 275°.  Cut the logs into ¾ inch slices and place back onto the baking sheet with a cut side down.  Bake for 10 more minutes.

Notes

• Store in an air tight container to keep crispy.
• Source:  Adapted from Cranberry Almond Biscotti found at Urban Sacred Garden.