Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Biscotti

Here in the South we had an especially cold winter. While it has warmed up as of late, it snowed several times and was quite chilly for where we live. There is nothing better on a cold night than warming up with some hot chocolate, in my opinion. To go along with our hot chocolate, I decided to make some biscotti. I have never been a big fan of it in the past because the kind I've tried has always been as hard as a rock. This was the furthest thing from the biscotti of my past. This was incredible! It tasted like a big cookie and was fabulous dipped in the hot chocolate. Adam prefers heating the biscotti a tad and dipping it in milk, so that is a great option too. I made this for my step-dad who loves biscotti and he agreed at how amazing it is. The great thing is that they last such a long time, so you can enjoy it on many cold nights (or warm nights if you're like me and can drink hot chocolate whatever the weather).

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Biscotti
Source: The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery, modified from The Peanut Butter & Co Cookbook
Yields: 18 cookies

Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Mini Chocolate Chips
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 large eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. Stir in chocolate chips, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, 1 cup sugar & vanilla. Add 3 of the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time until a smooth dough is formed.

Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log approximately 3 inches in diameter. Place the logs onto the prepared cookie sheet at least 3 inches apart and flatten the tops slightly. Beat the remaining egg and brush it onto the top & sides of the logs. Sprinkle the tops with remaining 2 tbsp. sugar.

Bake dough for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, making sure the bottoms aren't burning. Remove from oven & reduce oven to 300 degrees. Let logs cool for approximately 10 minutes and then cut them into 3/4 inch thick slices. Place the slices, cut side down on the cookie sheet and bake, turning once, for an additional 7 minutes on each side. Cool on wire rack.

Store cookies in an air tight container and they will keep for up to 3 months!