Gingerful Biscotti

4 oz (1 loosely packed cut) crystallized ginger (See note)
7 oz (1 ¼ cups) blanched (skinned) whole almonds
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking powder
1 ¼ tsp finely ground white pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground mustard powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs (I had to add a 4th egg as my dough came out dry)
½ cup mild honey

Cut the ginger with scissors into small pieces about the size of small peas – set aside (this is time intensive and boring)

Toast the almonds in a shallow pan in a 350 oven for 12 to 15 min until lightly colored. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, ground ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cloves ands sugar. Stir in the ginger and almonds. In a small bowl beat the eggs and honey to mix and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until completely moistened.

Place 2 18” strips of plastic wrap on a work surface. You will form 2 strips of dough, on on each piece of plastic. Spoon half of the dough on each piece of plastic down the length, about 13 inches long. Fold the long sides of the plastic over and cover the dough. With your hands push on the plastic covered dough to make a long flat log about 13 inches long and ¾ inch thick. Make sure the dough is even. Place it on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least an hour (or as long as you want)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cover the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the strips of dough to the sheets by opening the two long sides of the plastic on the top of the dough then flipping the dough over to remove the sheet. The dough should be diagonal on the cookie sheet. Place the second strip of dough on a second sheet.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking. Reduce the heat to 275 degrees. Remove the loafs and immediately using a long serated knife (and a gentle sawing motion) cut into thin strips (while still very hot). Slice them on an angle to make long thin cookies.

Place the slices on a cut side, touching each other on the cookie sheets. Cook for about 25 minutes or until dry – you can test them by popping one in the freezer to cool it down quickly and then test the crispness. Do not overbake.