Peppermint Biscotti

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 4 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped peppermint candy (round peppermint pinwheels or candy canes both work equally well)
• red food coloring

Peppermint Glaze Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• red food coloring

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 375°F Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.

2. 2

   Beat butter for 30 seconds in a large mixing bowl.

3. 3

   Add sugar, baking powder and salt, beat until well combined.

4. 4

   Add eggs and peppermint extract.

5. 5

   Gradually beat in as much flour as you can and stir in the remaining flour.

6. 6

   Mix in the chopped candies.

7. 7

   Form the biscotti: Divide dough in half and tint one portion of dough with food coloring. (I dyed my dough a dark pink with liquid food coloring…if you wish for a red dough, use red paste food coloring. )

8. 8

   Divide each half of dough into three equal portions.

9. 9

   Roll each portion into a 14 inch long rope on a lightly floured surface. Place a rope of each color side by side on the foil lined cookie sheet and twist ropes around each other several times.

10. 10

    Flatten twists to a 2 inch width. Repeat this process with the remaining ropes of dough and place each twist about 4 inches apart on cookie sheet.

11. 11

    Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned and tops are slightly cracked. Cool completely on cookie sheet.

12. 12

    Reduce oven temperature to 300°F

13. 13

    Carefully peel away foil and transfer twists to a wooden chopping board. Use a serrated knife to cut each twist diagonally into ½ inch thick slices.

14. 14

    Place slices onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

15. 15

    Remove from oven, turn over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until biscotti slices are dry. Allow biscotti to cool completely.

16. 16

    To make peppermint icing: Combine milk, peppermint extract and sugar. If icing is too thick, add milk in tiny amounts until it is of a drizzling consistency.

17. 17

    Lightly drizzle all biscotti in a zigzag fashion.

18. 18

    Add red food coloring to leftover icing (if mixture thickens, add a little more milk) and lightly drizzle biscotti in the opposite direction of the white icing drizzle zigzags.

19. 19

    Eat within 3 days and store in an airtight container. These freeze well (just make sure you drizzle with icing after freezing, not before).