Cranberry Almond Biscotti With Drizzled Chocolate

Makes about 36 biscotti

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

¾ cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup dried cranberries

1 cup slivered almonds, toasted (see directions below)

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips OR white chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but I’m sure white chocolate would taste awesome and look especially pretty and holiday-ey)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes, or until lightly roasted and browned (your kitchen will smell AMAZING, trust me!) Set almonds aside. Reduce heat to 300 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Stir in vanilla extract, and then beat in the eggs.
3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder, gently stir into egg mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and almonds (make sure almonds have cooled down completely).
4. Line one cookie sheet with parchment paper. Wet hands with cool water to handle the sticky dough. Divide the dough in half and form each portion into a log, each log about 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. (If you are skipping the drizzled chocolate, feel free to brush the logs with an egg wash at this point for extra shine).
5. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until logs are light brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven. Reduce oven heat to 275. Set aside logs to cool on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Cut logs on a diagonal angle with a sharp knife into slices ¾ inch thick. Return slices to the baking sheet on their cut sides and return to oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slices are crisp and dry. Allow slices to cool completely.
6. Melt chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave oven. Stir chips until completely smooth and melted, and transfer melted chocolate into a pastry or Ziploc bag. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag, and carefully drizzle chocolate over biscotti slices. Allow chocolate to cool completely before storing or serving.