Dried Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

"If it's Christmas it must be cranberries..." - Nigella Lawson in her book, Feast.

Absolutely!

I like to bake something with cranberries for our Christmas... and crave to bake cranberry white biscotti for my bake-along with Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Lena from Frozen wings.

As mentioned in my previous biscotti bakes at here and here, I like biscotti because there is no fat added but now, I have a confession to make... I actually like biscotti the most when they are baked with butter!!!

Argh!!! I know that this is not the typical health freaking me!!! ... but this is truly my honest opinion.

I have tasted biscotti that contains added butter and I have to say that I really like its buttery texture as compared with the ones with no added butter. Shame on me??? Opsie!

To satisfy my craving, I have been searching for the most ideal cranberry white chocolate biscotti recipe and tried to modify an amazing buttery biscotti recipe that I know (from the book, Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins and More by Carole Walter) by adding dried cranberries. Nay! It didn't work as I was baking delicious buttery crumbs instead of biscotti... LOL! Lesson learnt, not all biscotti recipes that contains butter can baked very well with dried fruits like dried cranberries and raisins!!!

Then, I found this highly reviewed and rated recipe at Epicurious. This recipe is pretty fail proof in the way that the dough is brushed with a layer of egg white to prevent it from falling apart after its first bake.

Phew! Here I am happy that I have managed to bake these buttery cranberry white chocolate biscotti.

Hey, butter! Love ya. Love ya...

Buttery dried cranberry white chocolate biscotti... Yum!

Yup! There is butter added into these biscotti...

... plus heaps of cranberries!

I think that the layer of egg white helps to keep the biscotti well in shapes.

No falling-apart biscotti... phew!!!

After the second bake... Spot any difference? Can't tell by eye but can tell by their crispness!

Cooling the biscotti completely before coating them with melted white chocolate.

Wait again? The chocolate needs some time to set.

Can't wait... Must have one now!!! With or without chocolate, this is so yum!

Here's the recipe that is mostly adapted from Epicurious

Makes about 14 large or 30 small bite size biscotti

187g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
75g caster sugar (original was 150g and I think this reduced amount is just right for me)
60g unsalted butter, soften room temperature
1 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla paste or extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 egg white
90g white chocolate
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C or 160°C fan forced.

Line baking trays with baking paper.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla together in large bowl until well combined. Mix in flour mixture, then dried cranberries. Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each piece into 5 cm wide and 2 cm tall long log shape. Place the logs to prepared baking tray, spacing them evenly. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush egg white glaze on top and sides of each log.

Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 30 mins. Cool logs at least 30 mins on the tray on a rack. Maintain oven temperature. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1 cm wide slices. You will get larger biscotti if you cut the log in a more diagonal angle. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same sheet. Bake 10 mins; turn biscotti over. Bake until just beginning to color, about 5 mins. Transfer biscotti to a wire rack to cool completely.

Using a microwave with low power or a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate until smooth. Dip one side of each of the biscotti into the melted chocolate and place it on a baking paper. Wait for the chocolate on the biscotti to set, about 30 mins. Serve.

Happy Baking
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Please note that the linky tool for bake-along is no longer available.