<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/insidevoice/3216162492/" title="Chocolate, Hazelnut and Ginger biscotti by (ariel), on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/3216162492_5374b63895.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Chocolate, Hazelnut and Ginger biscotti" /></a>

Every December a friend of mine sends a bunch of homemade cookies out to her people all over the country. Over the years she has discovered the perfect treat for shipping far and wide: biscotti. These crunchy cookies are perfect for shipping. They're sturdy, they stay fresh for a couple of weeks, and they are, in her words, more "virtuous" than typical holiday treats. Most of the fat comes from egg yolks, which are good for you. Better than butter, anyway. 

This was a revelation to me. I've never paid much attention to biscotti. The coffee-shop variety don't appeal much to me, as they are generally rock-hard and pretty bland and, you know, too virtuous. But the homemade variety? Delicious. Packed with tasty bits of good stuff. Easy to make. And they don't have to be dunked in a waxen glob of white chocolate.

We made a double batches of <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Hazelnut-and-Ginger-Biscotti-102709">chocolate, hazelnut and ginger</a> and <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pistachio-Raspberry-and-White-Chocolate-Biscotti-233428">pistachio, raspberry and white chocolate</a> (we used cranberries instead of raspberries). I did eventually drizzle a moderate amount of white chocolate on a few of the ones shown above to make them look prettier. 

To help us recover from holiday gluttony, I have instituted a baking moratorium for the rest of January. (I have already violated it twice... but that's another story.) Once February comes around I might have to make another batch or two of biscotti. They were definitely good enough for year-round consumption. And they're virtuous!