Making The Most of Naptime : Dark Chocolate Dipped Orange Biscotti #ChristmasCookies

I can't believe it's already Day 4 of Christmas Cookies Week, as hosted by Ellen from Family Around the Table. It's kind of weird that this wasn't the first recipe I posted, as this was the first Christmas cookie I made this year. The minute I tasted the dough (yup, I'm a raw dough eater, and I'm still alive...) I knew this would be a winner. It got me so excited to make all the cookies I had brainstormed for this event!

I make some sort of biscotti every year, and this year I wanted to marry two of my favorite flavors for it.... orange and chocolate. I know that not everyone is a fan of this flavor combo, but I LOVE IT! I feel like in most households, in the hierarchy of greatness of a box of chocolates, the last to go are the orange creme ones. They're the sad, lonely, stale little morsels at the end of the box. It's crazy. That's where I come in and destroy them. With my stomach. That's right friends - the orange creme chocolates are always the first to go if I crack a chocolate assortment open. So lets just say I eat a lot of them between December and January. I eat all of mine first, and polish off all the lonely ones that reside at every gathering I go to. Oink oink.

Anyways, if you're someone like me, and you LOVE orange and chocolate, I have you covered with this cookie. If not, sorry - come back tomorrow for something else. Or, as I hope you've been doing all along, check out everyone's cookies for today. As usual, there are some showstoppers!

ORANGE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI

For the biscotti
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup golden/brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar (regular granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp orange juice (just juice the orange you zested)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

For the chocolate dip:
100g dark chocolate
1 tsp shortening
Coarse decorating sugar (optional)

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange zest and juice and beat until combined.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir into creamed mixture. The dough should be fairly stiff.

Using lightly floured hands, divide dough in half. Shape each half into a log/rectangle measuring approximately 10 inches x 3 inches. I recommend placing them on a large parchment lined baking sheet for this process, so you can transfer them directly to the oven after shaping.

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 20 minutes.

Freshly baked, ready to cut

Remove from oven and transfer biscotti (leave them on the parchment paper) to a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 300F. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW TO FULLY COOL (or else you will be making a big, crumbly mess while cutting!). Yes, I just shouted that at you. It's very important that you cut these while still slightly warm, but not hot. Using a serrated knife, cut each log into 1/2 inch slices on a slight diagonal.

Place the cookies, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake in the 300F oven for 10 minutes. Flip cookies and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to fully cool on the baking sheet.

When biscotti have fully cooled, prepare the chocolate dip by melting chocolate and shortening in a small glass measuring cup. Dip biscotti in chocolate and place on parchment paper. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Allow to fully set before transferring to an airtight container. These freeze wonderfully!