Cherry Rum Almond Biscotti

Amy's baking biscotti again and you know what that means - I must be making a trip to visit the great biscotti lovers up North --- I also call them my parents.😂 They'll always be the biggest fans, encouragers and supporters of my biscotti baking adventures.  They've enthusiastically taste tested all sorts of my crazy biscotti creations and remarkably, their passion for the crunchy treat is still unwavering.   

I'm a huge fan of traditional almond biscotti but something in my brain just cant accept the fact that there isn't a biscotti flavor out there that I might like even better.  I'm also a recipe tweaker by nature and I have a bad habit of changing even my most favorite recipes. 🙄  Throw the fact that I'm a food blogger on top of all that and you better believe that I'm going to find new ways to reinvent the most delicious breakfast cookie ever made.  

Why is it that when I think about how I can improve on a recipe - my brain immediately goes to two things - chocolate and wine? 🤣🍷🍫  I've added chocolate to just about every type biscotti that I make.  White, milk, dark; Belgian, Swiss and salted chocolate. Chocolate chips, nibs and cocoa infused biscotti.  Chocolate drizzled over the freshly baked treats and biscotti dipped in melted chocolate.  One could argue  that I've thoroughly explored the chocolate biscotti options. 🤪

Wine didn't seem like a good option for biscotti so I decided to explore something else that I had in the back of my kitchen cabinet - spiced rum.😬  Not sure how long I've been saving this half bottle of Captain Morgans Rum but biscotti seemed like the perfect excuse to use it up - in the most delicious way.  Spice rum soaked cherries turned out to be the most amazing upgrade to a traditional almond biscotti recipe!! 🍒😋  

Cherry Rum Almond Biscotti
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup spiced rum
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Combine dried cherries and rum.  Microwave 1 minute.  Let sit 30 minutes.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. 

Cream together butter and sugar. 

Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond. 

Beat in dry ingredients.  

Drain cherries and gently stir into batter. 

Divide batter into thirds.  Shape each portion into a log and place on baking sheets. 

Bake 25 minutes at 350.  

Slice logs into 1/2" slices. 

Place slices on baking sheet and bake 10 minutes.  Flip and bake another 10 minutes. 

Ciao!

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