Chocolate Covered Anise Biscotti

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (If you have an electric mixer, then that would work better. If not, that’s ok.) Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the anise extract.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and add it to the batter a little at a time.

Butter two baking sheets and dust them with flour; invert the sheets and tap them to remove excess flour. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 2-inch-wide log. Place each log on a baking sheet.

(Now, you can either incorporate the sliced almonds into the mix or you can press them in the dough here. I did the latter because I thought it would be pretty to see it in the middle. I’d say I sprinkled about 1/2 cup of sliced almonds and cranberries on each half and patted them into the dough. Add the almonds and cranberries to your liking.)

Bake until the loaves are golden and beginning to crack on top, about 30 minutes. Remove the logs from the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 250 F.

When the loaves are cool enough to handle, cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices, using a serrated knife. Place the slices on the sheets, return them to the oven, and leave them there until they dry out, turning about every 20 minutes. You can feel them every once in a while to see if they feel harder and dryer in the middle. I like mine extra crunchy, so I keep putting them back until they are really nice and dry.

After they are baked and cooled, I make a chocolate dip with dark chocolate chips and some baking wax. Melt the chocolate chips and wax together, and then dip the biscotti slices in the chocolate.

To make them look all “purty,” you can sprinkle some sliced almonds on top.

ENJOY!

P.S. If you aren’t an anise fan, substitute the anise extract for vanilla or almond extract, or whatever you are brave enough to try. You can totally change the recipe if you want to add ANY dried fruit to the biscotti dough: dried apricots, cherries, rasins, you name it!