Bake Day & FInal Exams

Today was my last round of Final Exams for school.  I will be starting my 5-week externship on Monday morning.  School has been an intense experience, but I felt good after completing my finals this morning.

How did I choose to celebrate?  I baked!  After all, today is also Day 10 for my Friendship Bread Starter.  The question was "What am I going to bake?"  I knew that I wanted to make some yummy treats to give as little "thank you" gifts to a few of my instructors tomorrow.   They've already experienced the traditional bread version.  So, I ruled that out right away.  After some deliberating, I chose to try my hand at Friendship Biscotti.

Let the baking adventure begin...

I love my Big Blue Bowl.  It makes mixing up the new batches of Starters more manageable.  I don't end up wearing nearly as much flour.

Here's my lovely little Starter back in it's jar.  It's ready for another 10 Days of hanging out on the counter.

These may not look appetizing now, but just you wait...

Ta Da!  How good does that look? 

This is how they looked after they took another trip to the oven.  If you're wondering, the Biscotti has Dried Cranberries & Chopped Nuts in it.

The end product - Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Nut Friendship Biscotti

RECIPE:

Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Nut Friendship Biscotti

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24
Yield: 24 pieces

Ingredients

1 cup Amish Friendship Bread starter
2/3 cup granulated sugar

½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

¾ cup finely chopped nuts

¾ cup dried cranberries

Ingredients (for Chocolate Icing)

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

½ cup Heavy Cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
2. In medium bowl, cream together starter, sugar and butter. Stir in vanilla extract and egg.
3. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts and cranberries
4. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece out into a log about 10 inches long. Place them on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten until they are about 3 inches wide.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until firm. Cool on baking sheet for 10-15 minutes.
6. Slice logs crosswise into 1/2 inch wide slices. Place slices cut side down on baking sheet.
7. Return to oven for additional 15 minutes, until crisp and light brown. Cool til ready to dip.
8. While cooling, melt chocolate chips and heavy cream over double boiler until smooth.
9. Dip one end into the chocolate or spread on thin layer with knife and allow to dry.
10. Store in air tight container
11. ENJOY!