Orange and chocolate twist on traditional bake

Chocloat and orange cantuccini biscuits:

Following on from last week’s traditional ‘Cantuccini biscotti,’ I thought I would share with you another of our favourites, just as versatile and perfect for unexpected visitors as they will keep in a sealed container for at least a week without going soft, and these Cantuccini have a tasty twist – chocolate and orange! Ingredients:

100g soft dark sugar 1 large egg

½ tsp baking powder 175g plain flour

1tsp mixed spice

50g dark chocolate drops Zest and juice of half an orange

50g shelled and unsalted pistachio nuts

Recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 160oc. Grease an oven baking tray.

In a large bowl beat the sugar and egg together until pale and thick.

Add the pistachio nuts and the chocolate drops.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and all spice, mix to a firm dough.

On a floured surface divide your dough into two, mold into two sausage shapes approximately 2cm in depth and 20cm in length.

Flatten slightly, and carefully transfer to your baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for approximately three minutes.

When cool enough to handle, cut 1cm wide strips from the length, arrange the biscuits flat on the baking sheet and return to the oven in order to complete the double-bake, they should take approximately 10 minutes to harden.

These biscuits can often turn out quite hard due to the double-baking process, but they are the perfect excuse for dunking! Enjoy!

Lesley co-owns Roberto’s Italian on Southport’s Ocean Plaza with husband Roberto. For more of Lesley’s Recipes go to: Facebook.com/ robertossouthport and www.robertositalian.co.uk.