Fully Loaded Biscotti

Do you like chocolate cream sandwich cookies? How about pretzels? Chocolate? Believe me when I say that there is a reason for me bothering you with these loaded questions. Biscotti with chopped pretzel bits, chunks of chocolate cream sandwich cookies and mini chocolate chips in every bite will make you feel like there’s a party in your mouth. Are you ready to party? This recipe first appeared in Chatelaine Magazine, November 2015.

Fully Loaded Biscotti

The original recipe for this biscotti calls for Oreo cookies. Not to worry, any chocolate cream filled sandwich cookie will work just fine. Oreos have become an icon of 21st-century culture. It might surprise you to learn that Oreo cookies are the best selling cookie in the world with over $2 billion in annual sales. That’s a lot of cookies.

In 1898, several baking companies merged to form the National Biscuit Company, also called Nabisco. This was the beginning of the corporation that would create the Oreo cookie. Invented in 1912, the cookie has changed very little since 1952. Each cookie is a consistent 71% wafer and 29% cream filling. In 1997 Oreo cookies became kosher and we all waited with baited breath for that first bite. It didn’t taste all that different than the Paskesz brand cookies that we had been eating all along. I know that there is a life lesson in there somewhere.

Assemble your ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Chop the pretzels and chocolate cream sandwich cookies into coarse pieces using the blade of a sharp knife. Measure out the chocolate chips. Beat the butter or margarine and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the flat beater on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Add in the chopped pretzels, sandwich cookies chunks and mini chocolate chips. Gather the dough together.

Divide the dough into two pieces. Shape each portion of dough into a log about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch high. If the dough is sticky, wet your hands with water before shaping. Don’t add flour. Shape the dough right on the parchment lined baking sheets. Place the logs about 3 inches apart. They’ll spread when they bake. Chop an additional 6 sandwich cookies. Press the chopped cookies into the tops of the biscotti dough logs. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes.

Allow the logs to stand until they are cool to the touch. Cut each diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Carefully place the biscotti on a parchment lined baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Continue baking for 15 minutes.

Gorgeous! Allow the biscotti to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Print Recipe

Fully loaded biscotti

Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Desserts

By Chatelaine, Nov. 2015 – Serves: 30-35

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 + 15 minutes – Total Time: Just over an hour

Golden biscotti filled with chopped pretzels, chocolate cream sandwich cookies and mini chocolate chips.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pretzels
• 3/4 cup chopped chocolate cream filled sandwich cookies + more for topping (see the end of the recipe)
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• Topping
• 6 chopped sandwich cookies

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. (Measure the flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and leveling it off with a straight edge.)

3

Beat the butter or margarine and sugar in a stand mixer using the flat beater on medium-high until light and fluffy.

4

Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.

5

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating until just combined.

6

Add in the chopped pretzels, chopped cookies and mini chocolate chips.

7

Wet your hands with water and form the dough into logs on a parchment lined baking sheet. The logs should be about 3 inches wide and 3/4 of an inch high. Space the logs 3 inches apart. They will spread.

8

Press 6 coarsely chopped chocolate sandwich cookies onto the tops of the logs.

9

Bake in the center of the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the biscotti loaves to rest until they are cool to the touch.

10

Remove each log gently to a cutting board and slice each log diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Lift each slice gently and place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.

11

Lower the oven to 300 F. Bake the biscotti for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Notes

If you feel like gilding the lily, mix 1/2 cup of icing sugar and 2 teaspoons of water or milk. The glaze should drop off of your spoon slowly. Drizzle over the baked biscotti when they're cool. Allow the glaze to set completely before putting the biscotti away.