Candied Cherry Biscotti

At Christmas time, candied cherries are almost unavoidable and that suits me just fine because I love them! For my Candied Cherry Biscotti recipe, use both red and green candied cherries to make these biscotti look jolly and festive! A simple, easy to prepare glaze is all you need in terms of decoration.

Some people call them candied cherries; other people call them glace cherries. Guess what, Dear Reader!? They’re the same thing! I was always led to believe that glace cherries were the smaller diced cherries that you would find in a fruitcake, but that’s not the case. Glace cherries (as well as candied cherries) are indeed real cherries contrary to popular belief and they work tremendously well in these Candied Cherry Biscotti!

Candied cherries are basically maraschino cherries that have been processed in a thick, sugary syrup. They become intensely sweet and take on a chewy texture, which works very well in baked goods. You can find candied cherries anywhere, but I always get mine from Paradise Inc., out of Florida. They are the brightest and plumpest cherries I’ve ever used. They will ship them right to your door too. You can find Paradise cherries here.

In this particular recipe, I added one and a half cups of candied cherries. I love candied cherries and I love how the red and green colours pop when you bite into them. They’re perfect for Christmas! When I’m looking to use candied cherries, Paradise Fruit Company is my go-to source. They have the brightest, most plump, most perfectly round red and green cherries.  You can get all of their products online. Be sure to check out the website!

I’m presently in love with candied cherries.  I seriously can’t get enough of them!  It all started a few Christmases back and now it seems they’re all I can think about for the entire month of December.  Ok, so that’s not true! If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will already know that Christmas starts for me on November 1st. So, to be perfectly truthful, that is in fact when I become obsessed with candied cherries! And, why not? They are so sweet and chewy and delicious!

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting. Also, we have a vacation booked in what would have been the middle of the series, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar
• Salt
• Extracts – In this recipe, I am using both vanilla and almond extract. I think they both work so well together and compliment the candied cherries.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Candied Cherries
• Confectioner’s Sugar
• Milk

HOW TO MAKE CANDIED CHERRY BISCOTTI

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and baking powder until well combined and creamy. Next, add the eggs and beat them into the batter until well mixed. Now, add the flour. Beat in until just combined. Finally, use a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon to fold in both the red and the green cherries.

Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and form it into a log. (Dust your hands with flour; dough is a bit sticky!) Form the log into a rectangle shape that is roughly 4″ wide and 16″ long. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Using the parchment paper, slide the log onto a large cutting board. Slice into 1/2″ slices across the width of the log. Place slices back onto a baking sheet which has been lined with more parchment paper. Slices are cut side down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Carefully turn the cookies over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Once cool, in a bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the biscotti and immediately sprinkle over the remaining chai spice blend. Allow the glaze to firm and harden. Package biscotti for gift-giving or pile into a food-safe container. Leave at room temperature, or freeze until needed for up to 3 months.

STORING AND FREEZING

These biscotti will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing biscotti, I always double up on the seal action. Before I place the lid on, I always drape a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then I push the lid on. I just feel that the lid fits more tightly. Any little thing I can do to keep the frost out, I’m going to do it! I like to use containers like this.

Like I always say, if you freeze any baked goods, remove only the amount you want when you decide to thaw them. Fetch the container from the freezer and remove only what you need. Put the lid back on and get the container back in the freezer.

To properly thaw baked goods, place them on a plate or a wire cooling rack. Don’t pile them. Spread them out and give them some space. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. They will taste fresh and perfect every single time!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!