Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Biscotti for Food Network Canada's September Cooking Club Challenge

I was really excited to try this month's Food Network Canada's Cooking Club Challenge recipe... Chef Michael Smith's Chocolate Chip Biscotti.  Seeing that I am in the minority that prefer a crispy chocolate cookie to one that tastes half baked, it's right up my alley.

I cannot believe that I have never made biscotti before.  Never mind the crunch factor, they are easier.  I find baking large batches of cookies tedious and boring and usually save them for Christmas.  No more.  I am going to be biscotti-ing up a storm!  I was originally going to add some chopped candied ginger to these, but remembered that I had bought some mini cinnamon chips the last time I shopped at the Bulk Barn, so I added some of those instead.  These cookies, ahem, biscotti, are so dreamy, and probably the best cookie I've eaten this year... no lie.  I still can't wait to make another batch with that ginger though.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Adapted from Chef Michael Smith

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 rounded, heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder

1/4 cup mini cinnamon chips

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

In stand mixer with paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add sugar and continue beating until even fluffier (technical, eh?).  Add eggs one at a time and let continue beating for a few minutes.  If you have a stand mixer, go get your dry ingredients now.  If you have a hand mixer, ask your loved ones to buy you a stand mixer, haha!  Regardless, let the eggs, sugar and butter go for a few more minutes and then add the vanilla.  Then in another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.  Add all at once to the mixer and mix until well combined.  Stir in cinnamon and chocolate chips by hand.  

On a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment, and with floured hands, shape the dough into two logs about 6 inches long and three inches wide and flatten the tops slightly.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes, leave the oven on.  When you are able to handle the biscotti, gently move the two logs to a cutting board and with a serrated (bread) knife, diagonally slice each log into about 10 cookies, about 1/2 an inch thick.  Place cut side down back on the cookie sheet and continue baking for 10 minutes (which you can flip the cookies half way through, but I didn't bother).  

Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.  Apparently biscotti will keep up to two weeks this way, but I'll never know.