Gingerbread Biscotti

     This last December I baked so much and wrote so many recipes that I knew I would never have time to post them all before the month was over. Now, it's the end of January and I am finally getting to one of my absolute favorite recipes I made; gingerbread biscotti. For anyone that knows me well it wouldn't be hard for them to guess why this was one of my favorites. The first one is I am a HUGE biscotti person. I use any and every excuse to make biscotti so my Christmas gift baskets this year were almost guaranteed to include some. The second major reason these were my favorite is the slight obsession I had with anything gingerbread this year. Not only did I make this recipe multiple times, but gingerbread coffee syrup was always on hand, gingerbread pancakes were made multiple times, and I even made gingerbread houses to decorate a Christmas cake I made this year! Long story short, I highly recommend you try this recipe too.

    The process to make my gingerbread biscotti is kind long but overall pretty easy. To start, I mix together  butter and sugar until they are combined. Then, I add in my eggs one at a time and vanilla. Once that is combined, I mix in all my dry ingredients. These are flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I am careful not to over mix and stop once there are no more dry streaks. I then dump out my dough and shape it into two logs on a lined baking sheet. By this time my oven is usually preheated to 300 degrees and ready for my logs to bake for 30-35 minutes. I know they're ready when they are set and do not move when I tap the baking sheet. 

    After baking for 30 minutes, I let my logs cool for another 30 minutes before slicing them up and laying each slice on their side. If they are still too hot to handle after 30 minutes of cooling you can let them cool for longer. Once each log is sliced, I bake them for another 30 minutes. This is where the "twice baked" part comes in. When you are slicing your logs, you'll notice that they are a little soft in the middle. This second baking firms up those middles and turns them into a crunchy cookie. 

    When my biscotti has cooled from the second bake, I like to melt some white chocolate and dip in half of each cookie for a little extra fanciness and sweetness. You can also use the white chocolate as a drizzle instead of a dip or just skip it altogether. Either way, these cookies are perfect for a morning treat with coffee or as an addition to your holiday gift baskets. With warm spices and delightful crunchiness they are guaranteed to be a favorite. 

    What did you think of this recipe? Use the comment section below!