Cornmeal-Cranberry Biscotti

These biscotti are lucky, or at least they were for me. They're the biscotti that I made for my now-editor when we first met. The recipe is heavily adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook recipe.

makes 20-24 biscotti

3/4 cup hazelnuts
4 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roast the nuts on a small baking sheet for 15 minutes, or until fragrant. In order to peel the nuts, place in a tea or kitchen towel, and rub to remove papery skins. Pick out the nuts. Finely chop 1/4 cup, and coarsely chop remainder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, barely cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, nuts, baking powder, and salt, tossing to mix well. Add to the butter mixture, and mix. Add the cranberries, stirring to combine.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each portion into a log, approximately 2 inches in diameter. You may need to dust the counter with flour. Make sure the dough is firmly pressed into shape, so the biscotti will not be too crumbly upon cutting. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake until lightly brown and just firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes.

Transfer cookie logs to a cutting board and slice at an angle 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Place biscotti on the same cookie sheet to bake once again for 5 minutes, or until lightly brown. Cool completely, and place in an airtight container.