Confession #34: I made softer biscotti and I actually liked it... Chocolate-Drizzled Strawberry Biscotti

If you read my post for Cinnamon Chip Biscotti, you probably know that I like my biscotti very, very crispy. BUT, I have to confess, I made some biscotti that didn't turn out so crispy, and I still loved them. This basically changes everything I thought I knew about biscotti - they don't have to be crunchy or dipped in coffee to be good. These biscotti actually tasted better without the coffee; the flavors came out a lot more.

My inspiration for these biscotti came from some strawberry chocolate-chip biscotti I've had before. Strawberries and chocolate are, of course, one of those matches made in heaven, and I was really feeling biscotti at the time. I wanted to try something I hadn't done before, so I went with the chocolate-strawberry theme, but what I did is make strawberry biscotti and drizzle chocolate on top. They actually turned out to be strawberry-cream cheese biscotti with drizzled chocolate, because seriously, chocolate, strawberries, and cream cheese?! - now that's perfect!

I have this funny thing about biscotti; I never put chocolate chips into the biscotti. I always melt the chocolate and put it on top. I really don't know if this is true, but I feel like you taste the chocolate more that way. Plus, it's pretty fun getting to lick all of the melted chocolate off the spatula when I'm done!

If you normally say that you only like really crunchy biscotti, I hope you'll try making these anyway. They aren't soft like bread or scones, just softer as far as biscotti goes. And if you like biscotti that isn't too crunchy, these are definitely for you!

Chocolate-Drizzled Strawberry Biscotti

(makes 10 biscotti, 5 ½″ long  x 1 ¼″ wide  x 1 ¼″ deep)

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup butter, softened (½ a stick)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries, blended (about 3-4)

1 ounce cream cheese, cold

½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)

Oven Temperature: 350 F

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

2. Add the blended strawberries and cream cheese and beat until incorporated and no large chunks of cream cheese remain. Stir in the chopped strawberries by hand.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into the liquid ingredients until just mixed.

4. Pour the batter into a 12" x 5 ½" biscotti tin lined with parchment paper, or shape into a rectangle of the same dimensions and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven  for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, and then slice, angling slightly from top to bottom, into 10 biscotti, each 1 ¼" wide. Place in the oven for another 10 minutes.

5. If using a biscotti tin, turn the biscotti over onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to bake on the under-side. Otherwise, simply flip the biscotti over on the existing baking sheet. Bake for another 20 minutes. Finally, bake the biscotti for an additional 10 minutes on each side (the cut sides).

5. Allow the biscotti to cool completely before drizzling with chocolate. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% power for 1 ½ minutes. Stir and continue to melt at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted. Use a spatula to drizzle the chocolate diagonally over the cooled biscotti. And under no circumstances can you forget to lick the spatula when you're done!

Enjoy while the chocolate is melted or once cooled. If you normally dunk your biscotti, try them without dunking :)