[Posted by Chris]
Someday when I go commercial, I'll figure out a better name for this cookie. I combined several different recipes here and rounded some of the figures for convenience. (I mean, come on -- do I really need to measure out 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder? How much difference does that extra quarter teaspoon really make???) I also added several ingredients just because I like them, and it seemed to turn out okay. Feel free to substitute any ingredients for others of your choosing, but then you'll have to come up with your own cool name for the cookie.
Ingredients:
* 6 tablespoons butter (that's 3/4 of a stick)
* 2 cups flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs (although I suppose any size will do)
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1/3 cup peanut butter (you could try more; but I only had 1/3 cup left when I made this last)
* 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, blended to tiny pieces in a food processor
* 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 10 Oreos
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it boils. Let it boil for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then set it aside as you continue with the next few instructions.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs. While they are being savagely beaten, slowly add the sugar, butter, vanilla, and peanut butter, in that order.
5. Add the blend of dry ingredients and continue mixing until blended.
6. Now you get to add the fun stuff: with the mixer on low, add the rest of the ingredients. (I've found that I don't need to do any pre-breaking of the Oreos; my mixer will take care of this quite handily for me.) Mix only until everything seems pretty well distributed; be careful not to mix the batter too much, or your Oreos might disappear completely.
7. Divide the batter into halves and place them side-by-side on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. With your hands, which you should have properly washed long before this step in the process, shape the halves into oblong loaves lengthwise across the cookie sheet. Make sure you leave several inches between the two loaves, as they will expand upon baking.
9. Bake for about 24 minutes. Upon removing the loaves from the oven, lower the temperature to 325 degrees.
10. Allow the loaves to cool, while sitting on the cookie sheets, for about 10 minutes.
11. Move the loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the loaves into thin slices (about 1/2-inch thick), in a diagonal pattern. Then place each of the slides back on the cookie sheet, cut side down.
12. Bake for 8 minutes. Then flip the cookies over and bake for another 8 minutes. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.
13. Don't forget to turn off the oven.
These biscotti will not be as dry as traditional biscotti, but they should still be dry enough to last a while without getting stale and gross. (I've actually never seen them last longer than a day, but staleness has nothing to do with that.) And don't forget to have a cold glass of milk nearby as you enjoy. Chunk 'n' dunk to your heart's content!
