Biscotti (Italian)

Biscotti means Bis=twice, Cotto=cooked

Biscotti recipes are as varied as  Italian cooks and  every other Italian recipe you will find, from sauce to pasta. This is the recipe that I have been using for the past few years. It is much different from my grandmother’s biscotti, which contained ground almonds and zest of an orange peel. Whatever the biscotti, they are always good for dipping into wine or coffee.

 2 cups of all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

¼ tsp salt (if you use salted butter, you don’t need to add salt)

3 eggs

 1 ½ cups of whole almonds, lightly toasted

2 tbsp almond extract

1 tsp liqueur (such as brandy, grappa, or Frangelio)

zest of one orange (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Once well mixed, add the diced cold butter. Mix well, until butter is worked into flour mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing to combine (You must do this part slowly, or the dough will not come together evenly. Take the mixture out of the food processor and place in a large bowl. Add toasted almonds, almond extract, and liqueur. If the mixture is too wet, add a little sifted flour. If it is too dry, add a little more liqueur or extract. Work almonds into the dough very well. When the mixture is just right, divide the dough into three parts. On a floured board, roll into logs about 1 ½” tick and 8-10 inches long. Place on a buttered pizza pan (or cookie sheet). When all three logs are in the pan, press down to flatten the log , so that the dough is about  1” thick. If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the logs with sugar. Bake for about 20minutes or so in the middle rack. Make sure that bottom of the logs is brown, but not burned. Take out of the oven and gently place on a cutting board. With a very sharp knife (like a French knife), cut in diagonal slices about ¾ inch thick. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Put slices cut side down and bake for another 15 -20 minutes, turning once. Take out and put on a cookie rack. This recipe should yield close to 3 dozen biscotti 

For an alternative Cashew Espresso Biscotti- uss the same dough recipe, but instead of adding almonds, extract, and liqueur, add to the dough:

1 1/2 Cups of unsalted cashews, toasted on low heat in butter in a frying pan on the stove until lightly brown

1 teaspoon of finely ground espresso coffee.

Follow the recipe as if you are making almond biscotti.

In the picture, you can see the almond biscotti above, and the cashew biscotti below. Both are "deliziosi"!