White Chocolate and Macadamia Biscotti

I have been loving the TV show Italian Food Safari and saw them make delicious looking biscotti, and although I have been meaning to make this recipe for ages, I just haven't got round to it. So as a little homemade Christmas gift I baked a batch for Camaryn and stored them in an old sweetshop style jar.

The biscotti are beautifully crispy and the lemon zest adds a delicate flavour to it. Absolutely scrummy, will me baking more of these for sure. At the same time I was making these I had my Christmas cake in the oven and it worked very well together as they were baked at the same temperature. My only disappointment was that I was in Halls Head and the beach and sea were calling to me. I did get there in the end.

The Recipe - White Chocolate and Macadamia Biscotti

180g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

230g caster sugar (superfine)

3 eggs at room temperature

finely grated zest of 3 lemons

1tsp natural vanilla extract

200g white chocolate, chopped

120g macadamia nut halves

375g all purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

The Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk with a fork until well combined. Stir in the chocolate and macadamia nuts.
3. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Add this to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft and slightly sticky dough.
4. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions. transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape into a 5x20cm log. 
5. place on prepared trays and flatten slightly. The logs should be well separated to allow room (7cm) for spreading during baking.
6. Bake swapping the trays half way through for 30-35 minutes or until the logs are firm to touch and are just cooked through. Set aside to cool on trays.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees C. Use a sharp knife to cut the logs diagonally into 1cm thick slices.
8. Spread the slices well apart on the trays and bake for 20 minutes turning the biscotti over half way. They should be crisp and just starting to colour. Allow to cool on the trays.

The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.