My recipe for lavender ginger biscotti took me almost a year to get perfect. After returning from a trip hiking through Provence, I could not get the memory of a lavender shortbread cookie that I had tasted out of my mind. Every chance I got, I tried to recreate the cookie in my home kitchen. After a few months, I got the taste just right and this biscotti recipe became one of my absolute favorites!
Biscotti means cookies in Italian and so it's quite fitting that I created this recipe with Italy in mind as well. It also has one of my favorite ingredients in it - Lavender. This can be tricky to get just right because if you add too much, it can be too strong. The combination of lavender, lemon zest, ginger and white chocolate is heavenly. And, your kitchen will smell so good while they are baking. When in San Gusme, these biscotti were shared with Pam and Emma on a regular basis...as well as Tosca. Once you try this recipe, it might just be one of your favorites too!
Here is the recipe found on page 294 of the book.
Lavender Ginger Biscotti
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. sea salt
Lemon zest (1/2 lemon)
2 tsp. dried lavender flowers (crushed between your fingers)
8 ounces white chocolate (chopped)
4 tablespoons candied ginger chopped fine
½ cup roasted almonds (whole)
2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream together the butter and sugar. The mixture should be light yellow and smooth. Add the egg and beat well. Next add the vanilla and lemon extract, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Zest the lemon and add to the dough. Add in the almonds, candied ginger, lavender flowers, and white chocolate chips, mix well.
Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well. You may need more or less flour depending on the humidity. The dough should not be too sticky. You should be able to handle it with your hands without sticking.
Separate the dough into three equal parts and form three logs of dough that are about 1½ inches wide and 10-12 inches long. Place on baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. The cookies should be light golden brown.
Let cool for about 5-10 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
Place the cookie logs on a cutting board and cut into individual slices about ½ inch wide (like slicing bread, except don’t use a sawing motion when cutting, use a sharp knife and cut in one motion down through the cookies).
Place the cookies back on the baking sheet with one side down. Bake again for 8-10 minutes until they are just slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack and place in airtight container.
Recipe note: If you would like to experiment with different ingredients, add dark chocolate, grated orange zest, and chopped almonds instead of the ginger and lavender. Or try other nut and chocolate combinations, such as hazelnuts and dark chocolate, pistachios, dried cranberries and white chocolate.