Really must try triple ginger pecan biscotti

This recipe has travelled around our neighborhood and having sampled at Rina's house a couple of times I finally managed to get a copy the recipe. For lovers of ginger its worth making a double batch because believe me the biscuit tin won't stay in the cupboard for long. Sorry i can't credit the origins of this recipe but its lovingly written with lots of attention to detail so you cant go wrong. One tip - you can replace walnuts with the pecans.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of fresh ground black pepper

5 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (if you only have salted perhaps reduce the amount of salt)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Large eggs

1 tablespoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup pecans

1. Position two racks near the centre of the oven and preheat the oven to 160. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, salt and pepper. set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until well blended about 1min. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping dowm the sides of the bowl as necessary. beat in the fresh ginger and vanilla extract. At a low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until blended. stir in the crystallized ginger and pecans and mix until combined.

4. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and gather it into a disk (the dough will be quite sticky). Divide the dough in half. sprinkle the surface with more flour and shape each piece into a 12 inch log. Transfer the logs to one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart (the logs will spread). With the heel of your hand, flatten the logs slightly, until they are 2 inches wide. Place the baking sheet on the upper oven racks and bake for 35mins, or until the logs just start to brown lightly. Set the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for 10mins. Reduce the oven temp to 150.

5. Slide a pancake turner under each log to loosen if from the parchment paper. carefully transfer the logs to a cutting surface. Line the baking sheet with clean parchment paper. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange the slices cut side down and 1/2 inch apart on the two baking trays. Bake for an additional 18 -22 minutes switching the position of the baking sheets halfway through the baking (perhaps even turn the biscuits over) until the biscotti are dry and barely beginning to colour around the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.