White chocolate biscotti
with apricots and pistachios

8 ounces white chocolate

2 cups sifted unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

8 ounces shelled whole salted pistachios

1 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Chop chocolate in a food processor.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add about a cup of the sifted dry ingredients to the chocolate and pulse until the mixture is fine and powdery.

Stir the processed mixture into the mixing bowl with the remaining dry ingredients. Then stir in in the pistachios and dried apricots.

Whisk the eggs and the vanilla in a separate bowl until blended.

Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, mixing until thoroughly moistened.

Stretch out two 20-inch lengths of plastic wrap on a work surface.

Spoon the dough down the center of each sheet, forming a foot-long strip in the middle of each piece of plastic wrap.

Fold plastic wrap over each strip to form two 15-inch-long, 3-inch-wide and ¾-inch-tall strips, squaring the ends.

Place dough strips on a cookie sheet and freeze for at least 3 hours or until you’re ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Remove dough from freezer and unwrap. Place each dough strip on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and, while holding the loaves with a towel, cut the loaves into ½-inch-wide biscotti. Place the biscotti pieces on unlined cookie sheets.

Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees and bake 40 minutes more.

Cool completely and serve.

Local chef Terry John Zila caters events, teaches cooking classes and crafts stunning cakes in the Twin Cities. Learn more at johnjeanjuancakes.com.