Tangelo, Date, and Almond Biscotti

These tangelo, date, and almond biscotti are and excellent accompaniment to your morning coffee or afternoon tea. They contain butter, so they are not as rock hard as southern Italian biscotti. Don't worry, they are still nice and crunchy, and will stay fresh for days. They are excellent eaten with our without dunking them in a cup of coffee.

I love the sweetness of the dates combined with the citrus flavor. This is the second time I've made biscotti, and am amazed at how easy they are to make. Homemade biscotti is pretty special.

Impress your friends. All you need is two bowls, a whisk, a spoon and a good serrated knife. No mixer needed.

I made these tangelo, date, and almond biscotti for a virtual baby shower for one of my virtual friends, Tara, of Tara's Multicultural Table!

Her baby was (operative word "was") due in mid March, so Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook thought it would be a fun excuse to make some biscotti and, of course, surprise Tara.

Guess what? Tara's baby came early! You can follow her on Instagram (@taramctable) to see pictures of her amazing food as well as an occasional photo of her cute kids and puppies, Congratulations Tara! 

After the recipe, be sure to check out all of the other wonderful biscotti posts from Tara's friends. 

Tangelo, Date, and Almond Biscotti

Makes 24 biscotti (or you can slice them more thinly to yield more)

Ingredients

270 g (2 cups minus 2 T) all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

100 g (2/3 C) whole almonds

1/4 C (75 g) unsalted butter

1 T finely grated tangelo or orange zest (about one large tangelo/orange)

2 large room temperature eggs

150 g (3/4 C) granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

85 g dried pitted dates, diced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a half sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add the almonds and stir. 
4. In a small microwave safe bowl, microwave the butter and zest, until the butter is just melted, about 40 seconds, in 20 second bursts. Stir and let cool, but not harden. 
5. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk the eggs. Slowly add the sugar while continuing to whisk, until smooth. Slowly whisk in the butter mixture along with the vanilla and almond extract. 
6. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the flour is absorbed into the liquid. Add the dates and mix them into the dough with your hands. 
7. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a 12 inch log. Place each log on the baking sheet, and slightly flatten them into 3 inch wide by 12 inch long mounds. 
8. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and slightly cracked on top. 
9. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a rack for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. 
10. Slice each log on an angle with a serrated knife into 12 pieces. Place them on their sides back onto the parchment. Bake on one side for 7 minutes. Flip them over, and bake on the other side for 7 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. 

More biscotti recipes from Tara's blogger friends:

Biscotti Bites from Nicole at I am a Honey Bee

Cinnamon Biscotti from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti from Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures

Green Tea Biscotti Cookies from Rebekah at Making Miracles

Jam-Filled Mandelbrot from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Maple Walnut Biscotti from Sally at Bewitching Kitchen

Parmesan-Peppercorn Biscotti from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla