Almond-Fig Cantucci

This weekend, R said, "Remind me why you don't call these 'biscotti', again, Mom." Well, while 'biscotti' literally means twice cooked, it just refers to any cookie or biscuit. What Americans call biscotti are actually cantucci.

"So, can we make some cantucci?" he asked. I walked right into that one. So, we headed to the store.

R picked up some dried figs and slivered almonds. It's funny, I mentioned cranberries and walnuts or apricots and pecans. And he walked back to the cart with dried figs and almonds. "How about this mixture, Mom?" That'll work.

I actually love the way that the figs looked sliced in there. I don't know why I've never used them before. Also, since these included slivered almonds, I decided to swap out the ground almonds I usually use for some Pinole Azul, a ground hierloom blue corn from Mexico that's mixed with a little bit of piloncillo and ground cinnamon.

Ingredients

2 C flour
2 T Pinole Azul (I get mine from Rancho Gordo)
1 t baking powder
1/2 C olive oil
1 C organic granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 t pure lemon extract
1 C dried figs, destemmed and halved lengthwise
1 C slivered almonds

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, sugar, eggs and lemon extract. In another bowl, combine flour, Pinole Azul, and baking powder; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Fold in figs and almonds.

Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F. When cool enough to touch, cut into 1-inch thick diagonal slices. Place sliced cantucci on cookie sheet, and bake an additional 15 minutes on each side, or until toasted and crispy.

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