Gingerbread Biscotti

Gingerbread Biscotti

1 cup blanched almonds

¾ cup sugar

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup dark molasses

¼ cup minced fresh ginger

3 large eggs

 3 cups all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves and allspice

Place almonds in an 8-9 inch square pan. Bake in a 350 oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool. Coarsely shop and set aside.

                In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, and ginger until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

                In a bowl stir flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and almonds. Add to egg mixture; stir to blend. On 2 greased 12 by 15 inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 4 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheets; each loaf should be about ½ inch thick, 2 inches wide, and the length of the baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven until browned at edges and springy to tough, about 25 minutes; switch positions of pans halfway through baking. Let loaves stand on baking sheets until cool to touch, then cut into long, ½ inch thick diagonal slices. On baking sheets, arrange slices close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake at 350 until cookies are brown 15 to 18 minutes longer; switch positions of pans halfway through baking.

                Transfer biscotti to racks and let cool completely. Serve or store airtight up to 1 month; freeze for longer storage. Makes about 50. Recipe from a magazine dated November 1988.