“I’m deciding between cantucci and tiramisu for Friendsgiving dessert.”
“I have never heard of cantucci.”
“It’s biscotti.”
“Oh… aren’t biscotti just hard cookies that are difficult to eat?”
“You’re supposed to dip them in coffee.”
“Nobody ever told me that!”
Real life conversations between my husband and myself. I have been reminiscing hardcore about my trip to Italy. It holds a special place in my heart, and I don’t see that dissipating any time soon. One of the recipes we learned to make was cantucci, crunchy mini almond cookies served with vanilla ice cream and dessert wine or brandy for dipping. I had considered making these and bringing a nice bottle of brandy to our Friendsgiving dinner, but when my sweet David declared his distaste for them I decided to make tiramisu. Elyse loves my tiramisu so I knew I would have a winner anyway.
The crunchy almond cookies stayed on my mind, so when it came time to bake cookies for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I decided to make Cherry Hazelnut Biscotti. I swapped the almonds for hazelnuts because this time of year makes me crave them, and added dried cherries for a pop of color and flavor. I dipped a few in chocolate, too, because duh, it’s chocolate! I also swapped the name cantucci for biscotti because biscotti is the more commonly understood term here in America, and from what I remember, cantucci is specific to the almonds and Tuscany. So here we are left with cherry hazelnut biscotti that are perfect for dipping in coffee, hot cocoa, or brandy. Diner’s choice.
I sent cookies to The Baking Fairy, Jennifer Sikora, and Brunch with Joy. In turn, I received Brownie Dulce de Leche Bites from A Cookie Named Desire, Salted Caramel Toffee Chip Cookies from In the Kitchen with KP, Oreo Nutella Cookies from The Sassy Life. Abby, Katie, and I had so much fun checking the mailbox every day to see if more cookies had arrived. Then of course sampling our sweet deliveries!
I’m already looking forward to and planning for next year’s cookie swap! What are you favorite cookies to make this time of year?
Cherry Hazelnut Biscotti
Ingredients
Instructions
These look so good! That tiramisu was the best part of Friendsgiving.
Thank you so much for the delicious cookies! They were great to have with my coffee every day <3!
These are gorgeous and I adore hazelnuts–yum! Merry Christmas!