Triple Orange Pecan Biscotti

(by request for my bff Dawn over at The Flying Chagall)

From Fine Cooking's special issue Holiday Baking winter 2004. "These twice-baked Italian cookies 'smell divine and are delicious eaten by themselves or dunked into hot tea or coffee'. It's the perfect holiday cookie because of its great keeping and shipping qualities." Recipe developed by Susan Betz.

Ingredients:
12 ounces (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
finely grated zest of 2 oranges (to yield a scant 1/4 cup lightly packed) (takes me 3 oranges)
4 1/2 ounces (1 cup) coarsely chopped pecans
3 large eggs, at room temperature
5 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier

Directions:
Position oven racks in the middle and top of oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder and salt to combine. Put a bit of the flour mixture in a small bowl, add the orange zest, and rub the zest into the flour to keep it from clumping. Stir the coated zest and the pecans into the rest of the flour mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the olive oil, orange juice, and liqueur until well blended. Pour into the center of the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is blended. The dough will be very sticky. (she is not kidding about this, I sometimes only use 2 eggs if they are particularly large ones.)

Dump the dough onto a heavily floured work surface and divide into six equal portions. Roll each portion into a log that's 12 inches long, dusting with flour along the way to keep the dough from sticking. Set the logs about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and then press gently to flatten each log so that it's 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide.

Bake until the logs are golden and the tops are fairly firm near the center, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets and switching their positions after 10 minutes to ensure even baking. Set the sheets on racks until the logs are cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes. Leave the oven set to 350.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, saw them on a sharp diagonal into slices 1/2 inch thick. Arrange the slices on the baking sheets, laying them flat with a cut side down. Return the baking sheets to the oven and bake the biscotti for about 6 minutes. Turn the biscotti over, rotate the baking sheets and switch their positions, and bake until the biscotti are golden, another 8 to 10 minutes.

Let cool on the sheets on racks for 5 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool completely (the biscotti won't get crisp until then).

Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Number Of Servings:about 60 biscotti