Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti

I am an espresso gal- I have a freaking AWESOME lil'machine at my casa that helps me make my favorite Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf mocha lattes at HOME every day! It's this NESPRESSOthat I could not live with out!! I do make the mocha-latte every day, but I do NOT get the pleasure of enjoying it with a delicious home made biscotti every morning~!! That's why I love making these as a special holiday treat! Not to mention (as I mention it) they are gorgeous and ship very nicely!!
This recipe is a basic biscotti recipe that can be doctored up in all kinds of ways! Instead of hazelnuts you can add ALMONDS (another fave of mine), dried cranberries, golden raisins, mini chocolate chips- WHATEVER you LOVE!!



Here is the recipe as pictured- but don't be afraid to mix in any of the above or anything that sounds delicious to you!

3/4 c softened butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped hazelnuts (I used the food processor for mine)

Pre-heat oven to 350 & line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat the eggs in one at a time and add vanilla & almond extracts. In a large bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt- slowly sift & mix the flour mixture into the egg, butter, sugar mix. Fold in the hazelnuts using a large spoon or spatula.

Split dough in half and roll into two even logs- as pictured here...



Then flatten out the logs to about a 1/3 of an inch thickness...



Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, then, when cool enough, slice into biscotti slices, I used my santoku knife and it was a breeze!



Bake again for 17-10 minutes on each side, flipping once





Melt some chocolate chips,( if desired) I used one small bag of nestle semi-sweet chips in a small saucepan (held over a large saucepan of simmering water) and drizzled some and dipped some so they all had good chocolaty goodness coverage!