Cookies can often transport us to other places. Take biscotti, a classic Italian treat. Usually purchased at a café for too much money... but no longer! The kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine have made it their mission to take this wonderful treat and make it easy to make at home. Prepare to say ciao to those high priced goodies at the coffee house! Because once you've made them at home, you won't want to go back. Here's what you'll need:

- 1 stick of butter (at room temp)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (plus 1 tbsp for dusting)
- 3 eggs (2 whole eggs and 1 egg white, at room temp)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 almonds (sliced and toasted)
- 3/4 cup dried cherries

Note: This recipe will make approximately 2 dozen cookies.

To begin, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. In a bowl, combine your flour, salt, and baking powder, mixing and setting aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar, and then add in each egg one at a time. Once you have done this, add in the vanilla and the zest. Incorporate your dry ingredients to your wet in thirds, mixing until combined (and remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl). Once combined, add in the almonds and dried cherries. This will create quite a sticky dough.

Divide your dough into halves and transfer them to a baking sheet (without parchment paper). Roll and stretch your dough out to the length of your baking sheet (or approximately 1 1/2 feet in length, keeping it approximately 3 or so inches in diameter). Mix a tbsp of water with your egg white and use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over each log of dough and then sprinkle the tbsp of sugar over each (the egg will help the sugar to adhere as well as help the cookies to brown!). Place in your oven and bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through.

At the end of the 30 minutes, take the tray out and set it atop your oven, but do not turn off the oven! Let the cookies rest for 10 minutes and then move the logs to cutting boards. Using a serrated knife (important), cut 3/4" segments from the dough on a bias. This means that, instead of cutting straight down, cut at an angle. Return the cookies to the baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes (this will help them to harden up). Let them cool completely on a wire rack and then... why not add a fine, finishing touch? Did someone say... chocolate ganache? Here's what you'll need:

- 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp instant espresso (it won't taste like coffee, but rather the espresso will make the chocolate taste... more chocolatey!)

Mix the three ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 1-minute intervals, stirring at the end of time. It should take 2-minutes for the chocolate to fully melt. Stir with a spatula until the cream has been incorporated and you have a nice, shiny, bowl of chocolate. Dip each biscotti into the ganache about halfway, then set on a baking sheet lined with parchment/waxed paper and refrigerate until the ganache has hardened. Serve with coffee and enjoy!

The cherries, almonds, and zest will provide these crispy cookies with a wonderful flavor that will complement any cup of coffee or close off a good meal. And what's best is that you can make more than enough of these at home to satisfy a large party and not have to pay the exorbitant prices at some coffee house! To help spread the word the kitchen will be staying open late. Care to place an order?

Want to know what this challenge is all about? Check out my journal and feel free to send in recipes for cookies! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3096204/