It’s never too early for snowmen

I am all for having a purpose of bringing out anything snowmen (I love them :D) so when the Blogger Secret Ingreident this week was CRANBERRIES I was so excited!   This week’s ingredient was suggested by: http://www.fitnessista.com/

Any kind, whole, dried, Craisins, you name it!  Which got me thinking about the holidays and possible gifts you could give to friends and co-workers.  So this is what I came up with:

Christmas Morning Biscotti!  (thank Tony for that title!)

I figured the red of the dried cranberries would go perfect with green pistachios.  As with most recipes I come up with, they always turn out amazing in my head and usually end up being mediocre at best. 

But these are really great (four separate people have said so!)

• 2 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1.5 cups white flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fat free half and half
• 1/3 cup (1.5 ounces) shelled pistachios
• 2 ounces dried cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks.  Gradually beat in the sugar while constantly mixing it.

Sift the flour and baking powder and add this mixture and whisk.

Blend in the olive oil, milk, nuts, cranberries and vanilla and mix well to get a sticky dough.  Now at this point, it was a very sticky dough, so I just scooped it out of my bowl onto my baking sheet.

I sprayed my hands with Pam and molded the dough into one giant log.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove and let sit for at least 10 minutes to cool. 

Now slice into biscotti-sized thick bars and return to the pan, lining them up side by side, but allowing room for them to get crispy, and return to oven for 20 to 25 more minutes at a reduced temperature of 300 degrees.

This recipe made 10 generous size biscotti coming in at: 

• 143 calories
• 2.6 fat
• 26 carbs
• 1 fiber
• 3 protein

You could lower the amount of carbs by using Splenda, but I was all out.

After they cool, they can be stored in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Lunch will be posted at dinner since my lunch break is over.  See you then!

Still not too late to comment on my previous post to wish my father-in-law a happy birthday if you haven’t already done so! (and thanks to those who have!)