Honey Roasted Peanut and Dark Chocolate Biscotti

I think of honey roasted peanuts as a snack food, not really as an ingredient to bake with. There are only a couple of recipes that I regularly use them in and all of those involve quite a lot of peanut butter, as well. But I do use spiced and candied nuts in recipes where I’m looking to add an extra layer of flavor along with crunchy, toasted nuts. Once I realized that, it suddenly didn’t seem so strange to reach for the honey roasted peanuts when I wanted to make something a little different.

These Honey Roasted Peanut and Dark Chocolate Biscotti have all the crispness of biscotti you know and love, but with a bunch of sweet-savory and chocolate mix-ins that will have you wondering why you never tried such a combination before. I picked up the honey roasted peanuts at Trader Joe’s, but there are many tasty brands out there to choose from and you can also make your own, if you prefer. The peanuts are salty and sweet – which is what makes them so addictive on their own – and all that flavor transfers nicely into the biscotti. I opted to add dark chocolate and went with rough chunks, rather than chips, to have better distribution of chocolate throughout the cookies.

As with all biscotti recipes, these cookies are shaped into a large log and baked once, then cut into individual cookies and baked a second time. The dough log will need to cool slightly before you can cut it into individual cookies and I recommend using a sharp, serrated knife to get clean cuts through the peanuts. Once cooled, the cookies are ready to serve. These are delicious with hot coffee (aren’t all biscotti?) and just as delicious when paired with ice cream.

Honey Roasted Peanut and Dark Chocolate Biscotti
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the egg white and vanilla extract.
With the mixer on a slow speed, gradually incorporate the flour mixture, stirring just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in honey roasted peanuts and chocolate.
Divide the dough in half. Shape one half of the dough into a log about 2-in high and 8-10-in long (log should be quite narrow) on the prepared baking sheet (dough will be quite sticky; use a spatula or bench scraper, or lightly flour your hands to make it easier to shape). Dough will spread, so repeat the process with the rest of the dough on another baking sheet.
Bake logs for about 30-35 minutes, until golden and set. Cookies will spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
Allow dough log to cool on a wire rack for 20-25 minutes, then slice into cookies 1/2 inch thick using a sharp chefs knife or serrated knife. Arrange flat on baking sheet.
Turn the oven down to 325F, bake cookies a second time for 10 minutes, then flip the cookies and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned on the sides and slightly crisp. The cookies will firm up more as they cool.
Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.