A rich blend of candied ginger and holiday spices adds a lingering warmth to the robust flavor of these delicious cookies. Sweetened with molasses and brown sugar, studded with nuts and drizzled with white chocolate, Gingerbread Biscotti pair well with a warm cup of coffee. They also hold up well to dipping, if you dare.
Enjoying the Snow
Snow fell over the weekend. It wasn’t a blizzard. It didn’t bring the region to a grinding halt or leave us snowbound. Still, for a little while, magical white flakes fell and frequent gusts of wind caught them in a playful dance. People bundled up and stamped snow from their shoes as they came inside. The roads got slick and we had to drive home from church carefully. Along the way we saw two overturned vehicles on the side of the highway and passersby drove cautiously under the speed limit.
Yesterday schools were closed and it seemed like a good day to turn on some Christmas tunes and snuggle up beside a fire. It was also a good day to turn on the oven and do some holiday baking. I checked my ingredients carefully since I didn’t want to have to go out to buy more and canceled my plans for the day including my usual stop by the coffee shop.
At this time of year I have to admit I’ll miss that stop at Starbucks. It’s not about the coffee really. I can make fine coffee at home. The thing I’ll miss is the seasonal Gingerbread Biscotti. I have adored Starbucks’ Gingerbread Biscotti for years and look forward to having it with my coffee during December. I love to dip it into a cup of Christmas Blend or an Extra Hot Toffee Nut Latte, bite back to the crunchy part and let the warm saturated cookie dissolve in my mouth leaving a tingly note of holiday spice on my tongue.
Making My Own Gingerbread Biscotti
Since I wasn’t going to leave the house if I didn’t have to, I decided it was time to make my own Starbucks-Style Gingerbread Biscotti. In fact, I have been thinking about it ever since I discovered those deliciously dunkable cookies. I have made other flavors of biscotti, so the cookie itself is not a new challenge, it’s just that I could never settle on the best approach to approximate the flavor and texture of the gingerbread ones I have come to like so well.
Yesterday, as I looked out the window at a clear blue sky and the sunlight reflecting brightly off the snow, I felt ready. I started with a recipe I found at Recipe Goldmine, increased the amount of spices adding a few more of my favorites, decreased the candied ginger (since I had little on hand after making several Old-Fashioned Gingerbread cakes recently) and decorated with just a drizzle of white chocolate.
The result on my first try was much better than expected, in fact they were almost exactly what I hoped for in texture and flavor. These Gingerbread Biscotti are crisp-crunchy with a flavor that responds well to dipping in coffee. The robust blend of candied ginger and holiday spices finishes with a lingering warmth and nuts lend interest and depth to the composition. Next time I think I will add a little more candied ginger and substitute macadamia nuts for the almonds. I might also add a little more ground black and ancho chile pepper, but that’s just me. The recipe is well worth making as it is.
Enjoy!
Gingerbread Biscotti
Course: Christmas Cookies, Cookies and CandyDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesA rich blend of candied ginger and holiday spices adds a lingering warmth to the robust flavor of these delicious cookies.
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour (11oz or 310g)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
2 Tablespoons minced candied ginger
1 cup slivered almonds (or chopped macadamia nuts)
white chocolate for drizzling
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Beat together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the eggs. When combined, blend in the molasses.
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper and chile powder until incorporated.
- Fold in the candied ginger and nuts.
- Divide the dough in half and turn onto a lightly greased baking sheet. With greased hands, shape each half into a log approximately 3 or 4 inches wide and 1 inch high. Make sure the logs are at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Reduce heat to 300F.
- Cool Biscotti for 10 minutes then remove them from the pan and place them on a cutting board.
- Carefully cut each log into 1/2-inch slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet, cut side down.
- Place the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 10 minutes on the other side.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- When the cookies are cool, melt 1/4 cup or so of white chocolate. When the chocolate is smooth place it in a ziploc sandwich bag and seal the bag shut. Squeeze the chocolate into a lower corner and snip 1/8 – 1/4 inch from the corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out onto the cookies in a zigzag motion for decoration.
Notes
- Adapted from www.recipegoldmine.com.
- To make smaller biscotti – Shape 1/4 of the dough into logs 2-3 inches wide and 1 inch high. Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes before removing from oven. Continue with steps 8-14 as directed.
Alanna – I really enjoy the bite of chiles and pepper in gingerbread. The variation here from a more classic blend of gingerbread spices is fairly subtle but distinctive.
In my view chipotle chile pepper is nearly interchangeable with ancho chile pepper in a recipe like this. I think of the ancho chile pepper as a little less smoky and a little more sweet but ancho chile pepper can be harder to find.
Let me know how the the cherries work out. A touch of sour sounds like an interesting variation!
Just put a batch in the oven! : – ) You're apparently my go-to for all things gingerbread. I did up the black pepper and ancho chile pepper (hope that chipotle works as well?) so the batter has a pleasing little bite. Dried tart cherries instead of candied ginger. Toasted the almonds. Otherwise it's all yours – can't wait to see how it turns out!
Oh, these sound good. Perfect with a steamy cup of coffee. Starbuck’s does have yummy sweets at holiday time.
gingerbread biscotti! what a great flavor!
I love gingerbread and I love biscotti!
i can’t wait to make these… what a great idea for christmas cookies.
i’m not crazy about gingerbread or biscotti, but your creation is certainly very beautiful.
and by the way, i love snow…in moderation. 🙂
Lisa, these look really fabulous. I can imagine how good they’d taste with hot tea or a Cafe Americano. I like this recipe a lot.
Oh my gosh Lisa, this looks great and so Christmasy. Is that a word? Things are nice and snowy here in Michigan. Looks a lot like the holidays.