You have no idea how close I was to digging out the Lenox Holiday china for this post. Blame Lowe’s. Last weekend, the gardening section had been overtaken by an army of inflatable tractor-riding Santas with plugs of mistletoe chaw in their cheeks, and after every “Ho! Ho! Ho!,” they’d belch glitter.

Kidding! I love tractors! And Christmas! I just wish we weren’t bombarded with carols and Kris Kringle until after the official start of the holidays: the “Oprah’s Favorite Things” show.

So, how did I end up with Lenox Holiday Biscotti for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie challenge?

I wasn’t much of a biscotti fan. I couldn’t understand why anyone would bake something twice, so that it smelled like a cookie but had the texture of a dog biscuit. It seemed cruel. Then TWD decided to bake Dorie’s Greenspan’s Lenox Almond Biscotti. I liked her suggested substitutions: dried fruits, spices, nuts and citrus zest. So, I substituted the original almonds with pistachios, replaced the almond extract with vanilla and added about one-third of a cup of dried cranberries. The dough was extremely sticky going into the oven, but slicing the baked rectangle was a dream. No breaking or cracking.

After the baked sliced biscotti had cooled, I dipped each piece into melted white chocolate. They looked great, smelled fantastic. And they were delicious! I had all the pride of a caveman who’d just reinvented the wheel. Let me explain …

I was drawing a blank on how to photograph the biscotti, so I decided to look up “biscotti” on the Food Network’s website. That’s when I found out Giada De Laurentiis had used the pistachio-cranberry-white chocolate combination and called her creation Holiday Biscotti. Hence, Lenox Holiday Biscotti.

It could have been worse. Sandra Lee could have gotten there first.

Instead, I have a really great biscotti recipe. Biscotti that’s crunchy but won’t break your teeth and tastes as good as it smells. Delicious with or without dunking. And, I have something in common with Giada besides my abnormally large head. Great (big) minds think alike. Ho! Ho! Ho!

For the recipe, visit Gretchen of Canela & Comino.