Pecan Raisin Biscotti (How to Make Biscotti)

I have had an obsession with biscotti’s for the longest! They are a sweet crispy cookie meant for dunking into your favorite drinks. I love how they are crunchy and snap when you bite into one. They crumble right into your warm coco so lovely. But I always figure they were a complicated cookie to make. The shape was so intriguing I was intimidated by making them. I finally decided to go ahead and give them a try! After a few batches I was able to get a crunchy cookie with a lovely shape. Traditional biscotti cookies don’t call for any oil or butter, but a lot of egg yolk since it is a dry cookie. I am not traditional so I added oil to the recipe. This made the dough a bit easier to play with. The trick to a good biscotti is a serrated knife (bread knife)! It works wonders when cutting the tough cookie dough into long shapes. I may have used a measuring tape to be technical, but honestly all you need is your knife to measure how long your cookie logs should be before you bake them. Pecan Raisin Biscotti Recipe:
1 3/4 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup raisins
¾ cup whole pecans (chopped into pieces)
Recipe Directions: Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl sift dry ingredients and set aside.  In a large bowl add sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix until all the ingredients are a thick mixture. Add dry ingredients to mixture until the dough becomes thick. Stir in raisins and pecan pieces. Cut dough into two pieces and roll into logs measuring the size of your knife (if the dough is to sticky use more flour). Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press down on the dough to give it some width. Place in the oven for 28 minutes. Let them cool about 10-20 minutes.  Use your knife to cut the logs into biscotti shapes. Place them on the baking sheet and turn the oven temperature down to 325. Place in the oven and let them bake for eight minutes on one side, and turn them over so they can bake for 8 minutes on the other side. Depending on how brown you like your biscotti’s keep them in longer. Let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Serve with a nice cup of hot coco!