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These Wild Blueberry Lemon Biscotti get a lovely lemony kick from both the lemon zest and one of Italy’s favourite liqueur, Limoncello.

They’re studded with dried wild blueberries and pure white chocolate chips then drizzled with more melted white chocolate for some extra sweetness in every bite.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you’ll probably know quite well my love affair with biscotti. Not only are they extremely easy to make and perfect for a novice baker, you can mix and match different flavours and ingredients to suit your tastes.

They are also far lower in fat than other traditional cookies and keep extremely well in an air tight container for a week or so. Although at my house they disappear ever so quickly!

Furthermore, they make perfect little dunkers for a morning cup of freshly brewed coffee or a hot cup of tea to while away a lazy afternoon. Or better yet, these lemon scented biscotti make a lovely accompaniment to scoops of lemon granita. A delicious pairing for these wilting days of summer.

Similarly to my Chocolate Anise Biscotti, these are light and airy with a tender bite and extremely tooth friendly. Unless you happen to be a certain 11 year old boy entering a tooth transition period. Désolé Guillaume, j’espère que la fée des dents a fait preuve de grande générosité…sorry Guillaume, I truly hope the tooth fairy was quite generous with you!

The lemon zest coupled with the Limoncello liqueur imparts a lovely infusion of citrus flavor and accentuates the sweetness of the blueberries. However, you can absolutely replace the liqueur with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Although delicious all on their own, try drizzling some melted white chocolate for some extra love. But really its totally optional!

A note on Vanilla Sugar

My intent was to use regular granulated sugar as I normally do when making biscotti. I then remembered the jar of vanilla sugar way back in my pantry. As I slowly popped the lid a heady scent of sweet vanilla permeated the air around me and I knew at that moment that I simply had to use it in my Wild Blueberry Lemon Biscotti recipe. The aroma of homemade vanilla sugar is absolutely heavenly!

While you can use the store bought variety nothing ever beats homemade in my opinion.

Therefore with only two ingredients and five minutes of prep time you simply must try your own Vanilla Sugar. …and then bake some biscotti of course!

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Wild Blueberry Lemon Biscotti

Wild Blueberry Lemon Biscotti, scented with one of Italy's favorite liqueur, Limoncello. Packed with wild dried blueberries, white chocolate chips and then drizzled with more melted chocolate for some extra sweetness in every bite.

Course: Biscotti

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: biscotti, lemon biscotti, wild blueberry

Servings: dozen

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almonds finely ground
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt I used fine sea salt
3/4 cup dried wild blueberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2 large eggs
zest of 1 large lemon about 1 heaping tablespoon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of Limoncello liqueur you can substitute freshly squeezed lemon juice
lightly beaten egg white from one egg for brushing the logs
1/2 cup white chocolate melted (for drizzling)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the all purpose flour, finely ground almonds, baking powder, salt, wild blueberries and chocolate chips.
Stir and set aside.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the vanilla sugar, melted butter, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla extract and Limoncello liqueur.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon till thoroughly combined.
Transfer the biscotti dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide in two.
Dust hands with flour and roll 1 portion at a time into a 12 inch log.
Transfer logs to prepared cookie sheet.
Brush each log with the beaten egg white.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the logs one at a time to a cutting board and slice diagonally to about 3/4 inch pieces.
Place the sliced biscotti upright on the baking sheet and return to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes or till golden brown in color.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate in microwave safe bowl then thin it with a little bit of vegetable oil for easy drizzling.
Drizzle the biscotti with the melted white chocolate and allow the chocolate to set before serving.

This past week turned out to be pretty challenging for me. It has been quite hectic in my kitchen trying to finish dozens of chocolate cake pops and these yummy sandwich cookie pops…all for a good cause!

A few colleagues and I organize an annual bake sale to raise money for National Denim Day, a Canadian wide event which raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness. This year was exceptionally exciting because we had many co-workers who generously donated their time and talent to make this year’s fundraising a success.

Aside from making the much requested cake pops, I did want to switch things up a little and make something different…something fanciful and playful. It had to be a special treat and exciting enough to entice one to donate, however big or small the donation might be. These sandwich cookie pops were certainly it!

They are somewhat whimsical and sophisticated in appearance, appealing to both the young and older crowds.

This simple cookie dough is scented with vanilla and black raspberry liqueur. Once baked, the cookies are sandwiched together with a delicious buttercream, dipped in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.

Now, a little about these sandwich cookie pops…yes, they are a little more work then a drop cookie, but only because there are a few more steps to follow.

Read the recipe through first and when your are ready to make them, pace yourself. Prepare the dough the day before, let it chill in the fridge then proceed with the recipe the following day. Bake them in the morning, fill them in the afternoon and dip them in the evening. Simple enough!

When working with candy melts I highly recommend you thin the chocolate with some vegetable oil as this will do 2 things for you. First, it will make the sandwich cookie pops easier to dip and secondly, it will render the chocolate melts less sweet.

The best part with these sandwich cookie pops, if one is an avid baker, they can be adapted to suit many different occasions or themed parties such as baby and bridal showers, as well as birthdays or holidays such as Mother’s Day!

And on that note…Buona Festa della Mamma to all amazing moms!

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Sandwich Cookie Pops

These sandwich cookie pops are vanilla sugar cookies with a raspberry buttercream filling dunked in white chocolate candy melts and sprinkled with funfetti.

Course: Dessert

Servings: cookie pops

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 granulated sugar
1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
50 lollipop sticks
1 1/2 pounds candy melts flavor of your choice (I used Wilton candy melts)
Funfetti or any sprinkles of your choice optional
RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
1/2 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or milk

Instructions

Stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set this aside.
In a larger bowl beat the softened butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add the granulated sugar and beat until it turns creamy and smooth. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Beat in the liqueur or milk if using, and the vanilla extract.
Next, beat in the flour mixture until everything is combined.
Once combined, cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two equal portions. You may want to use a scale for this.
Roll out each half into a 12 inch rope.
Wrap up each roll in saran wrap and chill for about 4 to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line two cookie baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have four all the better.
Slice the rolls into 1/8 inch pieces.
Place 50 lollipop sticks about 1 and 1/2 inch apart on your prepared cookie sheets.
Place a dough slice, centered on one end, of each lollipop stick.
Bake for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.
Bake the rest of the cookie slices without the lollipop sticks.
When ready, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for one minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream.
RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
In a medium sized bowl, beat 1/2 cup of softened butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
Beat in 1 cup of the icing sugar, raspberry jam and the liquor (or milk).
Gradually beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar.
Spread about a teaspoon of the raspberry buttercream on the bottom part of each cookie with the stick.
Top with the remaining cookies bottom side down, pressing down gently to sandwich together. Set aside while melting the chocolate.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir well and continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth and completely melted.
At this point the candy melts will need to be thinned in order to make them more fluid and not overly sweet.
Stir in some vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon at a time making sure it is well incorporated. ( a good rule is 2 teaspoons per 12 oz of candy melts.) It should give a ribbon like pouring consistency.
Pour the melted chocolate in a wide rimmed coffee mug. Stir again.
Hold each cookie pop by the stick and carefully dip into the melted chocolate to coat all over and let excess chocolate drip off back into the mug. You can also tap the cookie stick against the rim of your mug to help it along, turning the stick over and over as you tap. This helps to achieve an even coating.
Place on a waxed or parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with funfetti.
Repeat with remaining cookie pops.
Keep them flat on baking sheet till chocolate is set.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden Magazine