Gingerbread Biscotti

It’s no doubt the caffeine lover in me, but I’m a sucker for baked goods I can enjoy with my coffee.

There’s just something about the bitter taste of the coffee that makes the sweetness of the baked good that much more delicious.

With the frequency with which I bake for this blog, I’m always looking for variety and new things to try out. As such, I have noticed that there are certain recipes that have what I’ve come to view as a ‘repeat factor’; meaning, they have a certain likelihood of whether or not I’m going to be baking them again.

Some recipes ‘score’ higher than others, but I will say that recipes I enjoy eating alongside coffee or tea have definitely secured higher scores in their Repeat Factor. For that reason alone, biscotti has a leg up in the rankings.

Beside that, it’s easy to make, it stores/ships with no fuss, and because it’s biscotti there’s not the same worry about the cookies ‘staying fresh.’

I’ve been meaning to make gingerbread flavored biscotti for years, but for whatever reason, I didn’t get along to it until now. Boy, was that a mistake.

But regardless, I can now report back that it’s delicious, and that I’ve been enjoying these immensely alongside my morning (and afternoon) coffee. Biscotti also makes for a perfect selection for cookie boxes/gifts for all the aforementioned reasons. Plus, doesn’t it just look so festive?

We’re halfway through the 12 Days of Christmas; check out the already posted recipes below in case you haven’t already!

Day 1: Winter Spice Sausage Rolls

Day 3: Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles

Day 4: Sweet Potato Gingerbread

Day 5: Brown Sugar Cookies

Day 6: Gingerbread Biscotti

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Gingerbread Biscotti

Recipe Adapted from Land o’ Lakes

Ingredients

For Biscotti:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large Eggs
3 tablespoons mild molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

For Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
A few tablespoons of milk or water
Holiday nonpareil sprinkles

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, ginger, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add eggs; continue beating until well mixed. Add molasses; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour and baking powder; beat at low speed until well mixed.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 12-inch log on lightly floured surface. Place logs 3 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten logs slightly. Spray tops of logs with cooking spray, then sprinkle coarse sugar on top.

Bake 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned and tops are slightly cracked. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes on cookie sheet.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Carefully place logs onto cutting surface. Cut into 1/2-inch diagonal slices with serrated knife (a bread knife works perfectly for this). Place, cut-side down, onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheets.

Return to oven. Bake 9 minutes; turn slices. Continue baking 5-7 minutes or until cookies are dry and crisp. Cool completely.

Combine icing ingredients together with a fork until it is at desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled biscotti, then sprinkle the nonpareils on top. Allow to sit until icing it set, about 30 minutes. Store biscotti in a sealed container or plastic bag.