As perfect as a sweet and crunchy addition to the holiday buffet table as it is for a leftover breakfast biscuit with coffee or tea the next morning, my Gluten Free Holiday Biscotti offers a yuletide twist on the traditional Tuscan cookie. Twice-baked, with familiar hints of vanilla and almond, the festive additions of cranberry and orange or chocolate and pistachio make for a merry combination you’ll find yourself coming back to year after year. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
• 2 cups dried cranberries
• Zest of one orange
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pistachios
• 3 teaspoons cocoa powder

• 

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
• In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
• Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled.
• At low speed of your mixer, add the flour, stirring until smooth; the dough will be sticky.
• For Cranberry Orange: mix in dried cranberries and the orange zest.
• For Chocolate Pistachio: mix in pistachios and cocoa powder.
• Plop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Divide it in half, and shape it into two 9 1/2″ x 2″ logs, about 3/4″ tall. Straighten the logs, and smooth their tops and sides.
• Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven.
• Using a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water, lightly but thoroughly spritz the logs, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
• Wait 5 minutes, then use a sharp chef’s knife to cut each log crosswise into 3/4″ slices.
• Set the biscotti on edge on the prepared baking sheet. Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 25 – 30 more minutes, until they feel very dry and are beginning to turn golden. Remove the biscotti from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.