Spiced Apple Cider Biscotti

Even without the addition of real chopped apples to this Spiced Apple Cider Biscotti recipe, it still tastes very much like a freshly baked apple pie! Using familiar apple pie spices and apple cider, this biscotti will make you feel all warm and cozy on the inside!

A few years back, I made Crab Apple Jelly using the crab apples from the trees in our backyard. It was my first time cooking with crab apples and I was hooked. Since then I made a spiced version of that crab apple jelly as well as these delicious Cranberry Crab Apple Meatballs! Earlier this year, I shared my Crab Apple Cider recipe, and today, I want to show you how I used some of my homemade cider – by making a batch of these Spiced Apple Cider Biscotti!

The first summer we owned our home, we were excited to discover a crab apple tree in the backyard. We patiently waited until early September and picked all of the crab apples we could. I had full intentions of making Crab Apple Jelly. I spent all afternoon washing them and chopping them. Before long, it was too late in the day to start making jelly. The weekend was over and it was back to work in the morning. I placed the prepared crab apples in large Ziploc bags and stashed them in the freezer. My intention was to make jelly the following weekend.

Months later, the frozen crab apples went into the compost. The next summer, however, I was determined to not let that happen again. I’m happy to report that in the years that followed, I’m never too tired or it’s never to late in the day to preserve my crab apples, because the reward of opening a jar throughout the winter months is just too good!

ALL CRAB APPLES ARE EDIBLE!

It’s true! Red, pink, green, purple – no matter the colour or the size, if it’s a crab apple, you can eat it. Now, I would not recommend you pull a crab apple off a tree and start munching. Crab apples in their raw state are very tart. They can also be very hard and tough to chew.

Even though most of us think that crab apples are just ornamental, you can turn those little fruits into a delicious jam, jelly, cider, and even cakes and loaves!

They may be small and tart, but you can make some amazing recipes with the fruit of a crab apple tree. With exceptionally high pectin and acid content, they are ideal for jelly. And when you cook them, the apple flavour intensifies, so you get a very apple-y jelly as a result. In this recipe, I’m adding brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice to make the most glorious cider!

HOW TO TELL IF A CRAB APPLE IS RIPE:

I must have tested the crab apples on our tree every couple of days for about a month. Throughout summer they were very green with a blush pink colour on the tops. Overnight, the colour deepened to a beautiful Christmas red.

It’s at that stage that you’ll want to pay attention to the ripening. Every day or two, pick a few crab apples from the tree. Don’t pick them from the same branch. Walk around the tree to take a sample from various branches. With a sharp knife, cut directly through the center of the apple. Once you do, you’ll want to pay close attention to the seeds. If the seeds are white in the center and the exterior, the crab apples are not ripe enough.

When the seeds turn to an off-white colour in the center, but have a dark brown skin, then the apples are ready to be harvested. In my case, the skin on the seeds turned from white to dark brown over a period of five or six days.

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of 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, 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
• Apple Cider
• 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.
• Spices – You will need ground cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
• Confectioner’s Sugar

HOW TO MAKE SPICED APPLE CIDER 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, apple cider, 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, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Beat in until just combined. The dough will be sticky.

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 12″ long. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate around the baking sheet. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. In the meantime, reduce the heat to 325°F.

Using the parchment paper, slide the log onto a large cutting board. Slice into 3/4″ slices across the width of the log. Place slices back onto the baking sheet which has been lined with more parchment paper. Slices are cut side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Carefully turn the cookies over and bake for another 12 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.

For the glaze, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and the apple cider until smooth. Drizzle over the biscotti and allow the glaze to harden and firm. 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 tins 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 fridge.

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!