ORANGE ALMOND BISCOTTI Filed under ( Biscuits and Cookies, Cakes and Bakes )

"Biscotti", what a lovely name!, and I thought I could never make them, they *sounded* way too exotic, but all thanks to Vera I have a jar sitting on the table, all crisp, nutty and sweet and I just love them!
I took some to work and the reaction was unbelievable, everyone said that they tasted just like the one's you would get at the bakery, I was so happy and proud.This will definitely be my favorite baked goodie for all times :).
I decided to make a small quantity first with the ingredients I had, and then once I had got the hang of it, bake larger quantities, I also sliced one log diagonally and one into straight slices, which resulted in smaller biscotti.
To make these you require (adapted from here)-
(makes 8 large ones and about 20 small bite size one's)

• Sugar-1/2 cup
• Butter(salted)-60 gms
• All purpose flour-1 and 1/4 cup
• Baking powder-3/4 tsp
• Orange flower water/Orange flavor- a few drops
• Pure vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
• Almonds-a handful
• Raisins-a handful
• Egg-1
• Zest of 1 orange.

Method- Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and line a baking sheet with foil/parchment,take granulated sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle rind on top, rub to moisten and leave for few minutes, beat in softened butter till light and fluffy.Add egg and essence and beat well for a few minutes.Sieve flour and baking powder together and add to the egg mixture, it will come together to form a soft, sticky dough, add almonds and raisins.Flour your work surface and halve the dough, shape into two logs, 10 inches long and about 1 inch thick, shape with dampened hands and flatten a bit, gently place on baking sheet at least three inches apart and bake for 25 minutes, cool for 10 minutes then with a very sharp knife slice diagonallyand bake again for 15 minutes, transfer to wire rack and cool completely.Store in an airtight container.Enjoy over hot cups of coffee