Almond & Anise Biscotti

From Mary Zwald A crispy, crunchy biscotti with delicious anise flavor gets festive holiday packaging from a dip in white chocolate and pistachios. This was our runner-up. 2 eggs

¾ cup granulated sugar ½ cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon lemon zest 2 teaspoons crushed anise

seeds

1¼ teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole almonds,

coarsely chopped TO DECORATE 1 cup melted white chocolate or white vanilla bark

1 cup chopped pistachios Instructions: In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, lemon zest, anise seeds, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Whisk to blend. Add flour and almonds; stir until dough forms. Turn out on floured surface, knead about 8 turns. Divide dough in 3 batches, forming a ball; refrigerate for about an hour.

Form each ball into a log about 2 inches in diameter, compacting the dough tightly with your hands. Carefully transfer logs onto a cookie sheet and space them apart (they will spread while baking). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until firm to touch and golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow logs to cool completely.

Place log one at a time on a cutting board and using a sharp knife cut slices about ½-inch thick. Arrange slices cut side down on baking sheet. Return to oven and bake until brown, 15 minutes. Transfer biscotti to wire rack to cool. To decorate: Melt white chocolate and place in small bowl. Dunk one tip of each biscotti in chocolate and coat one side in chopped pistachios. Place on a parchment-lined sheet and allow to cool.

Note: We double-baked our sliced biscotti about 10 minutes then flipped and baked another 10 minutes. But the recipe as printed will make a nice crunchy cookie. A dunk in dark chocolate would be just as tasty and festive as using white chocolate. Makes about 42 biscotti