This is one of my favorite things to bake every year at Christmas. The recipe is great with or without additions so it’s good to have it in your repertoire.  The additions are what gives this biscotti a unique taste. This time I’m using Medjool Dates and Pecans along with a boost from a Vanilla pod (yes, it’s worth a drive to the store to pick one up) and of course, Vanilla extract (the real stuff of course).  Another Christmas Treat to add to your table – Date, Pecan and Vanilla Biscotti! 

If you have a favorite biscotti recipe that you’ve used before and like the taste of, feel free to use it as the base. I like this one because of the double boost of vanilla – pod and extract.  If you don’t have a vanilla pod and don’t want to get to the store to pick one up, add an additional teaspoon of vanilla.  But do give this one a try with the pod!  Remember, the scraped pod still has traces of vanilla and this can be used to give your sugar a vanilla scent – great for future baking needs, so don’t discard it.  I would recommend sticking to the quantity of vanilla, pecans and dates for 2 cups of flour. Slightly more isn’t going to affect this recipe but too much will. Rub the chopped dates into the flour to ensure the individual pieces are coated in flour and evenly distributed.  Your fingers work best for this – very calming.

The knife you use to cut the biscotti will make a difference.  A serrated knife is what most recipes I’ve seen recommend and the pictures show what I cut using a serrated knife – hit and miss on smooth pieces (really, does it matter when it tastes so good?!).  But a friend of mine who gets excellent clean slices – like a bakery, uses a sharp knife and presses down quickly to cut through.  I will do another biscotti recipe before the final and try this method.  The other thing is to let it cool down for about 20 minutes before slicing.  

Pecans work great with dates, but so will almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts – really any kind of nut. You can also use a combination of nuts, just keep the proportions the same.  Try it with dried apricots as well.  Its a good solid base recipe for biscotti and with the addition of the dates and pecans, it just puts it over the top.  One further thing, if you want to get really decadent, drizzle date molasses or dark chocolate over the biscotti just before serving – what??!!  A delicious tasting biscotti and one you must add to your table. As always – enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsps baking powder
½ tsp Kosher salt
Âľ cup granulated sugar
½ cup salted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds extracted
6 Medjool Dates, chopped (about ½ cup)
Âľ cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions
Heat the oven to 325f – line a baking tray with parchment paper
Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod in half and gently scrape the seeds from the pod and add it to your stand or hand mixer
Add the butter and sugar to the vanilla seeds and mix until light and fluffy
Add the eggs – one at a time, and the vanilla extract and mix until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed
To the flour, add the baking powder, salt and chopped dates – ensure the dates don’t clump together by coating the pieces in flour, use your fingers to mix and separate the chopped up dates, each piece should be coated with flour
Add the chopped pecans and pour all at once into the mixer and mix until a dough forms – dough will be sticky, but workable
Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces (3 pieces gives you about a 14″ log 1 ” high) and working one at a time, place on the parchment and spread into a log shape, repeat with the other piece of dough – leave space in between the logs to allow for spreading
Note – Wet and shake the excess water off your hands to make spreading this dough easier.  As well, 3 logs makes nice “taster size” pieces of biscotti when cut
Bake in the center of the oven until lightly browned, about 30 minutes
Place the logs on a cutting board and let them cool – about 15 – 20 minutes
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut the logs on the diagonal into ÂĽ – ½ -inch-thick pieces
Place back on the baking sheet, cut side down
Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes, turning once half way through
Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool – sample, strictly for quality assurance purposes 🙂
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate/freeze until ready to serve