Orange and White Chocolate Biscotti from Craig Sutherland. Holiday Dessert bake-off Christmas Special recipe.

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

12 oz. unsalted butter

6 eggs

6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

8 oranges

1 egg plus 1 tsp. water for egg wash

Method 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.

Using a microplane or other rasp-type grater, zest the oranges and add the zest to the butter/egg mixture and mix well.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and ground ginger and add to the butter/egg mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon, switching to your hands when the mixture begins to form into dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds, adding only enough flour to prevent dough from sticking to the work surface.

Dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. If the dough is too wet, add a little flour. If the dough is too dry, add a little beaten egg.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into two, and form into two logs, each about 4 to 6 inches wide and 1 to 1 ½ inches high. 

Each log should be slightly domed on the top and a little thinner on the sides. This will help form the correct domed look of the finished biscotti. 

Brush both logs all over with the egg wash and bake uncovered on the middle shelf for 20 to 30 minutes. The biscotti should be lightly browned and firm to the touch when done.

Allow biscotti to cool for 5 minutes before carefully sliding the biscotti, using the parchment paper, onto a cutting board. 

The biscotti are pretty fragile at this point. With a very sharp knife (I prefer a chef’s knife, but a serrated blade will work just as well), slice biscotti into 3/4- to 1-inch think slices.

Arrange slices, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 to 20 minutes. 

Flip the biscotti over halfway through the cooking time. They should be very lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet.

Candied Orange Peel:

1 cup of water

3 cups granulated sugar

Julienned peel from 3 oranges

Combine the water and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, add the orange peel and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the peel to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Strain the peel and toss in the remaining sugar until well coated. Shake off the excess sugar and lay the peel out on a baking sheet to cool until completely dry.

Finishing the biscotti:

2 cups melted white chocolate Dip each of the biscotti about halfway into the white chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

While the chocolate is still wet, place 3 strands of the candied orange peel on each biscotti and press down gently to fix the peel to the chocolate. Allow to cool, and enjoy!