Maple Walnut Cranberry Biscotti (A Guest Post by Buttercream Fanatic)
These maple walnut cranberry biscotti by Nora of Buttercream Fanatic are crisp and crunchy, with a distinct buttery-vanilla flavor, sweet maple, chewy cranberries, and tender walnuts. Enjoy them with a hot cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa!
Today’s guest post is brought to us by Nora of Buttercream Fanatic. Nora has to be one of the sweetest and most supportive people I’ve met since entering the blogosphere. I love her approach to food- she’s so scientific about it! Girlfriend knows what she likes and she makes it happen. I’m so happy she’s sharing this seasonal biscotti recipe while I’m recovering! I’d love a couple of these with a hot cocoa while I’m snuggled in my bed healing up! Whadya say, Nora, maybe you can pop over to Philly for a quick visit and a cuppa?
Despite the fact that you have to remember the tinfoil step, and bake biscotti twice, they actually are pretty quick and easy to make. The active baking time is little (cream butter and sugar, throw in everything else but the flour, gently incorporate flour, shape into two longs. Done.), and the yield from this recipe is pretty substantial at about 20 large (but not too large!) biscotti. That, coupled with the impressed reaction you get from the lucky friends and family who get to sample it – biscotti has something of a reputation for being fancy, and people assume that if it’s fancy it must be hard to make. Use that to your advantage! – are my favorite reasons to make biscotti, and this maple walnut version has to be one of my new favorite flavors.
Didn’t I tell ya? She knows what she wants, when it comes to biscotti and all the other goodies she bakes up. You can really get a sense that Nora thinks so carefully when she’s developing a recipe- I have no doubt these biscotti are the ultimate! Thanks so much Nora, for the fab recipe! Everybody hop on over to Buttercream Fanatic to see what else Nora’s been up to! And check her cute self out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest too!
About Nora: I have a regular office job, where a coworker recently referred to me as “a walking encyclopedia” of cooking and food. That characterization is less a reflection of my expertise and more a reflection of my obsession. By day I work as a market research analyst, which I love, but cooking, and especially baking, is my version of meditation. I’m terrible at yoga, anyway.
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Maple Walnut Cranberry Biscotti
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (59.15 g) unsalted butter,, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (165 g) light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, (large)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 3/4 cups (343.75 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (58.5 g) walnut halves
- 1/2 cup (60.61 g) dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup (90 g) white chocolate chips,, melted (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick mat.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, then add salt and baking powder.
- When everything is completely incorporated, add all of the flour, chopped walnuts, and cranberries at once and mix until just incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for a few more seconds to make sure everything is incorporated and the dough holds together when you press it gently. (It should be moist enough to hold together but not sticky.)
- Form the dough into two logs on the prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly. (Make sure to bury as much of the dried fruit in the dough as possible; exposed fruit burns easily.)
- Bake the logs for 25 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cutting board.
- Cut slices about 1" thick. (It's not necessary to cut them on the bias (you know, that diagonal-y way) but it is just prettier that way. You can cut them straight across the width of the log if you prefer.)
- Place the cut biscotti cut side up on the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Then, cover the entire pan with tin foil (this prevents the fruit from burning) and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 30 minutes in a cool, dry place (nothing fancy, just put them on the counter. Use a coaster; the pan's hot). This will allow them to crisp up into a more "biscotti-ish" consistency.
- If you'd like, drizzle with melted chocolate when the cookies are fully cooled.
Soooo… I had the pleasure of hanging out with Nora in Dallas this week. Small world. This looks amazing and a wonderful flavor combination.
That’s so great, Neil! I just love Nora and her biscotti are perfection. Thanks so much for reading my blog! Hope you’re having a nice week 🙂
i was wondering if you have ever done any desserts, especially cookies using cheeses. I was thinking of making some kind of blue cheese biscotti. any ideas??
Hi Briana! I have not, but I wonder if Nora has? She was the author of this post. You might want to try messaging her on her page, it’s: http://www.ButtercreamFanatic.com. Thanks so much for reading and for the great question!
This looks lovely and I love the flavor combo. I also agree with Nora with the four components that can make or break your biscotti. All of the components that she discussed are very important when trying to create the perfect biscotti.
I agree, Vane. Biscotti are one of those things, they really need to be done right. Nora knows what’s up! 😉
I want some of these to dip with my morning coffee! Great job Nora and Allie!
Thanks, Anne! And I’m so sorry for the delayed reply. But you’re right, biscotti + coffee is perfection! Thanks for stopping by & I hope to see you here again soon! 🙂
This is fall in a biscotti and I am in love with it! So gorgeous and delicious! 🙂
YUM!
I know, right? Perfect fall flavor combo. Love Nora, she gave us a fabulous guest post! Thanks for popping over, Tieghan!
I’ve never made biscotti before and this one looks perfect. I’m loving the maple walnut cranberry flavour combo – perfect for fall! Allie, I hope you’re doing well and recovering, girl. As much as I’m loving all the guests posts and getting to meet new bloggers (hi Nora!) I miss ya! Get well soon.
Thanks, dear! And sorry for the late reply. I’m glad you’re enjoying the guests! Aren’t they fabulous!
I’m dying to try biscotti, I’ve been wanting to make it for months. This looks like the perfect recvipe to finally give it a try 😉
Oh wow, I’m surprised you’ve never made it before! This is a great recipe, and I love having biscotti around. They keep for a long time, and they’re such a nice pick-me-up, with a hot cuppa. xoxo
Wow these are beautiful and sound so delicious. You are right, she does get all scientific which makes something like biscotti less daunting. I love it. Heading over now to become more acquainted with her recipes and blog 🙂
So happy you liked, Zainab! Nora is a super-talented baker. I hope you enjoy her blog! xoxo
Thank you again for inviting me to guest post, Allie!!
Girl, the pleasure was all mine! Your biscotti were a huge hit with my readers! I hope you get new followers 😉
Love the sound of this maple walnut biscotti – looks so scrumptious dunked in the cup of coffee!
Totally! Made my mouth water… I wish I had the biscotti AND the coffee right now! 😉
I love biscotti!!! totally going to try this and thanks for introducing us to Nora! 🙂 hope you are feeling ok and recovering well!!! take care, Allie!
Hi Alice! I’m so happy you liked Nora! Doesn’t her biscotti look perfect? I wish I had some right now, lol! Thanks for popping over and for the sweet comment. I’m getting there! 😉
Allie, this biscotti looks delicious! I love the sweet of the maple paired with the tart of cranberry! And walnuts are one of my favorite nuts for desserts. Biscotti is perfect for breakfast – not to heavy and goes perfect with coffee. Love!
Me too, Kristi! I adore this flavor combo, especially at this time of year. Just perfect with a hot coffee. YUM!