Blueberry Almond Biscotti and Biscuits

A request was made for a biscotti recipe using frozen blueberries, and such a recipe might prove difficult and time consuming. Here are two delicious recipes that use blueberries, one frozen and one dried. For the biscotti recipes, you could use frozen blueberries after you thawed them and dried them.

To do this, you could place them in a baking sheet in a 200 or 250 degree F oven with the door left open a crack and let them dry over a couple of hours. If you have a food dehydrator, this might be a quicker tool for drying frozen, thawed - or fresh - blueberries.

The happy fact about drying your own fruit, is that you can select the degree of dryness you like best. for instance, raisins that are not completely dried are very good in cookies.

Before friends shared their biscotti recipes with me in the past, I felt that biscotti were altogether too expensive and probably impossible to make at home. Visions of beautifully wrapped biscotti in Starbucks and Macy's with tiny bows and ribbons and of high end Italian eateries clouded my vision.

The one biscotti I tasted was not very flavorful, anyway - like Melba toast - so I'd about given up on this genre of cookie. However, my friends happened to have some homemade, brilliant almond biscotti on hand and we found that we could add blueberries or dried cranberries for additional flavor.

Now, I'm a biscotti fan!

Makes at least 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2.5 Cups all purpose flour
• 1.25 Cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 Whole large eggs, plus 2 extra egg yolks (save the extra whites for another dish)
• 1 tsp each of pure vanilla and of almond flavoring
• 1.5 Cup slivered almonds - save about 1/3 Cup for decorations
• 1 Cup dried blueberries (or dried cranberries)
• Grated zest of one whole lime
• Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Cooking spray a large baking sheet
• In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, and baking powder together.
• In a second bowl, mix the eggs and extra yolks.
• Slowly into the eggs pour in the vanilla and almond extracts 1.25 Cups of almonds. Stir.
  Into the egg bowl, add blueberries and lime zest.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to the egges while stirring very gently.Blend together lightly, but do not beat the dough.
• Cooking spray your fingers and form the dough into a ball. it will be sticky and you may need more cooking spray on your fingers.
• Pull off portions of dough to make three separate rolls that are
  4" wide x 9"long and 2" thick. You will cut these into individual biscotti cookies after they are baked.
• Cooking spray a long-bladed spatula.
• Lift the three biscotti rolls with the spatula onto the baking sheet, leaving SEVERAL inches between the three. Otherwise, they will cook together into one lump.
• Take the remaining 1/4 Cup almonds and press them attractively into the top of the dough rolls. You can even form a specific design if you wish to do so.
• Bake 20 minutes until the biscotti hold together well.
• Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes.
• Carefully slide biscotti rolls onto a well-floured clean counter top or cutting board.
• With a very sharp knife edge, cut rolls on a diagonal angle into biscotti that are 1.5" wide
• Turn each cookie onto one cut side onto the baking sheet again.
• Bake 10 additional minutes or until firm.
• Remove from oven onto a towel on the counter top and flip each cookie onto the other side to cool.
• Some cooks like to put the biscotti into the oven again for a few minutes to make them harder, but this is an individual choice.
• Serve when cooled and store in an airtight container for up to one month.

Blueberries may have more health benefits than many people realize. Foods such as this berry are called neutraceuticals, because they have effective nutritional and pharmaceutical elements that can make our lives healthier. See the links below for more information.

The biscotti recipe above features quite a lot of steps, but this biscuit recipe is quicker. It makes a great breakfast, dessert, or snack. The recipe uses purchased baking mix or your own blend and will be a breeze after making your biscotti. The younger kids can even help with this one.

INGREDIENTS

• One 12-oz package frozen blueberries, thawed
• 2.25 Cups all purpose baking mix (Jiffy, Bisquick, or store brand - or your own blend)
• 2/3 Cup whole milk
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup apricot preserves
• Whipped Cream or Cool Whip

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Hold out 1/2 Cup blueberries for topping.
• Using a large mixing bowl, place the baking mix, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and 2 full Cups of blueberries.
• Stir carefully until you have a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean floured surface and knead 5 or 6 times.
• Roll the kneaded dough out to a 1/2" thickness overall.
• Using a sharp cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes and place them onto a dry baking sheet.
• Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. The biscuits should rise as they bake. remove from oven and slice each across the middle like a sandwich bun and coast the bottom half with apricot preserves. Replace the tops.
• In individual dishes, place one or two biscuits, top with whipped cream and scatter blueberries over the cream and serve.