Almond & Cranberry Biscotti

📝 Ingredients

• 130 g plain flour
• 60 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• ½ unwaxed orange (zest only)
• 1 large egg (about 60 g)
• 1 tbsp honey (about 20 g)
• 50 g whole almonds
• 40 g dried cranberries

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Fine grater
• Baking sheet
• Baking paper
• Serrated knife
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line the baking tray with baking paper. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and the finely grated zest of the half orange (only the orange part; the white pith is bitter).
2. Make a well in the centre, crack in the egg and add the honey. Mix first with a spoon, then by hand, until you have a firm, slightly sticky dough with no dry flour left at the bottom. If it crumbles, knead for 1 more minute: the warmth of your hands softens it.
3. Work in the whole almonds and cranberries, kneading to spread them evenly through the dough. With slightly damp hands, shape a log about 25 cm long and 6 cm wide, flatten it to 2 cm thick and place it on the tray.
4. Give the log a first bake of 25 minutes, until it is golden, firm to the touch and slightly cracked on top. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes on the tray, as it crumbles if cut while too hot. Lower the oven to 150 °C.
5. Place the warm log on a board and cut it diagonally into 1 cm slices with a serrated knife, using a gentle sawing motion without pressing down, so you cut through the almonds without breaking the slices. You'll get around twenty biscotti.
6. Lay the slices flat on the tray and return them to the oven for a second bake of 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until dry and lightly golden on both sides.
7. Leave the biscotti to cool completely on the oven rack: still a little soft when they come out, they harden as they cool. Then store them in an airtight container so they stay crunchy.