A Christmas Cookie...Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti

Biscotti are a twice-baked cookie, traditionally flavored with almonds or anise. The dough is first shaped into a log and baked. After cooling, the log is cut into slices and the slices are baked again, producing a crisp cookie perfect for dunking into milk, coffee, or even wine.

I've never been crazy about traditional biscotti, but recently saw a recipe in Parade magazine for a chocolate and cranberry-studded version. This one's more to my liking, and I see now how you can make infinite varieties of biscotti. I'll be sure to try other flavors, too.

Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Sift together dry ingredients. Beat butter and sugar together until very smooth, then beat in the eggs. Mix in dry ingredients until blended. Fold in cranberries and chips. Divide dough in half. Put pieces on opposite sides of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape each into a 12-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick log. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes; cool 20 minutes. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick cookies. Stand them up in the baking sheet, separated; bake for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

These will continue to crisp up for a few hours after cooling. They make a pretty and tasty addition to any cookie tray, and freeze very well.

A Christmas Cookie...Chocolate Crinkles

Christmas cookies are a once-a-year indulgence. Holiday treats are part of every heritage, and the key is moderation. I'd rather my children consume real food--no matter how rich--than be tempted by the platters of store-bought goods and candies that are everywhere this time of year.

A couple of years ago I started baking for the holidays. I mean really baking. When DD17 was in treatment and we were stuck inside away from crowds, I decided to make as many different kinds of Christmas cookies as I could. Call it therapy, a creative outlet, or maybe even a way to jumpstart better memories.

So now I'm the designated Christmas cookie baker in my extended family, and other people around me have come to expect cookies, too. Everyone has their favorites, but I'll always try something new and occasionally even drop a favorite cookie recipe (when DD17 was diagnosed with nut allergies, I sadly stopped making most of the nut cookies which are so popular around the holidays).

Here's a recipe for Chocolate Crinkles. I've modified a couple of recipes to come up with this one, and you can certainly modify it further with different chocolates or deeper coffee flavor (one recipe I've seen uses espresso powder, of which I've never used, but I suspect is delicious here).

Chocolate Crinkles

1/2 cup butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
1 cup powdered sugar

In small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate. Let cool slightly. In mixer, blend sugar and chocolate/butter mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Add vanilla. Sift together salt, flour, baking powder, and coffee granules. Add to mixer and blend well. Chill several hours, or overnight. Heat oven to 350. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into powdered sugar. Roll around and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. Move to racks to cool. Makes about 50 cookies.