Orange Apricot Biscotti

Like little orange jewels, dried apricots have such a distinct flavor; they add a little chewiness to the crisp Orange Apricot Biscotti. And, they very pretty too! Here were are with the eleventh biscotti recipe in this twelve-part series. I get to wrap this series up tomorrow and look forward to a break from baking. (As if!) You know how much I love it! I had to include the Orange Apricot Biscotti recipe in the series, because we love dried apricots.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, melted
⅔ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup dried apricots, finely diced
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, 2 teaspoons of the orange extract, vanilla extract, orange zest, and baking powder until well combined and creamy. Next, add the eggs and beat them into the batter until well mixed. Now, add the flour and beat in until just combined. The dough will be sticky.
Fold in the chopped apricots. Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet and form into a log. (Dust your hands with flour; dough is a bit sticky!) Form log into a rectangle shape that is roughly 5″ wide and 14″ long. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate around the baking sheet. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, reduce the heat to 325°F. Using the parchment paper, slide the log onto a large cutting board. Slice into 3/4″ slices across the width of the log. Place slices back onto baking sheet which has been lined with more parchment paper. Slices are cut side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Carefully turn the cookies over and bake for another 12 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Once completely cooled, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar with the remaining teaspoon of orange extract and the milk. Whisk until smooth and drizzle over the biscotti. Let set to harden. Package biscotti for gift-giving or pile into a food-safe container. Leave at room temperature, or freeze until needed for up to 3 months.

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