Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Gingerbread Biscotti

Back in late October, Lindsay of the Love and Olive Oil blog posted on Twitter that it would be fun to do a food blogger cookie swap. With the help of Julie from The Little Kitchen blog, they put together an enormous, world-wide cookie swap. The story even made it into a Nashville newspaper artice!

So, the big question was, what cookie would I make to send? I had to work within listed allergy and taste preferences of my recipients. I didn't want to make something "common," like chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies. I finally settled on King Arthur Flour's Gingerbread biscotti — a festive, but sturdy cookie that would hold up well to shipping. Biscotti also stay fresh for about two weeks, so even after shipping time, my recipients would have several days to enjoy them.

In return, I received a dozen Chai Shortbread cookies from Dash of East, Butterscotch Birds Nests from My Year of Food, and Pinwheel Cookies from Forkful. All were delicious (but my favorite were the pinwheel cookies), and I'm delighted that I found some new blogs to read.

Interested in participating next year? Fill out this form to be notified when it's time to sign up! Also, "like" the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap Facebook page.

Gingerbread Biscotti
Recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup (5 ounces) dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (8 ½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup (6 ½ ounces) crystallized ginger, diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the medium-sized bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla until thick and creamy.
3. In a second mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, and crystallized ginger, then transfer to the stand mixer bowl, and gently beat with the egg mixture just until incorporated.
4. Scrape the dough onto the baking sheet, and with wet hands and/or bowl scraper, form into a log that is 14 inches long, 2 ½ inches wide, and ¾ inch thick.
5. Bake the log for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C). 
6. Lightly spritz the top of the log with water, wait another five minutes, then transfer the log to a cutting board and slice the log into ½ to ¾ inch thick slices. Be sure to slice straight up and down. Slicing straight across the log will give you short biscotti; slicing on the bias will give you long biscotti. 
7. Set the biscotti upright on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Stored in an airtight container, biscotti will keep for up to two weeks. They can also be wrapped in plastic and frozen.