Biscotti

Biscotti are crisp Italian biscuits (or cookies) made from a dense dough and often flavored with almond or anise. These cookies get their signature crispness from being baked twice. This recipe pulls together in a few minutes and after that second bake you have a wonderful crisp cookie to enjoy with your morning coffee!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g, plus more for sprinkling
• ¼ cup almond meal 25g
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons salted butter 57g, melted
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup almonds slivered
• 1 large egg lightly beaten or 1 tablespoon cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Add 2 eggs, melted butter, and almond extract. Beat on low speed until combined and dough starts to form. (mixture will still be somewhat crumbly.) Add almonds and mix just until combined.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times to form a cohesive dough; divide in half. Shape each half into a 1-inch-thick (5×3-inch) rectangle and place on prepared pan at least 4 inches apart. Brush dough with beaten egg or cream. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
• Bake until dough is cracked and outside is lightly brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer loaves to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325F.
• Using a serrated knife, cut each piece into 1-inch-wide slices. Place slices back on the baking sheet cut-side down. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and cookies appear totally dry. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Notes

Baking the cookies in the second round at a low temperature creates that extra crisp texture classic to biscotti. If you aren’t quite sure your cookies are done, bake them for an extra minute or two. The bottoms may get a little darker brown in color, but at the low oven temperature, they shouldn’t burn very easily. Not a huge fan of almonds or want to mix up the flavors? You can substitute the almond extract for vanilla extract or a more traditional anise flavoring. Swap the slivered almond for chopped pistachios, hazelnuts, or pecans, or leave the nuts out altogether. For that classic oblong shape, cut the slices at a 45 degree angle across each log.

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Almond Flour- This recipe is really forgiving so any almond meal/almond flour will work. It does not have to be super-fine, like you would need for a macaron.

Almond Extract- Almond extract is wonderful in this but if you can’t source it you can sub in vanilla or even orange blossom water.

How to Make Biscotti

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the melted butter, egg, and almond extract in a small bowl then set aside.

2. Sift the flour, almond flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk together then whisk together.

3.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry while the mixer runs on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix until you have a crumbly but cohesive mixture.

4. Add the almonds in and run on low until mostly incorporated.

5. Give the dough a light knead on a lightly floured surface. You’re just working it a bit to incorporate the nuts fully and make it a bit more cohesive.

6. Divide the dough in half and form into two rectangular loaves roughly 5x3x1 inches. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes o until cracked and light golden in color. Remove from oven to cool for about 20 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 325F.

7. Use a sharp serrated knife to slide the biscotti into roughly one inch thick pieces. You can go a little narrower or thicker if preferred, really up to you, just try to be consistent.

8. Place biscotti back onto parchment -lined baking sheet and lay flat. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes or until slightly golden and completely dry.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

• Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
• Baking the cookies in the second round at a low temperature creates that extra crisp texture classic to biscotti. If you aren’t quite sure your cookies are done, bake them for an extra minute or two. The bottoms may get a little darker brown in color, but at the low oven temperature, they shouldn’t burn very easily. 
• Not a huge fan of almonds or want to mix up the flavors? You can substitute the almond extract for vanilla extract or a more traditional anise flavoring. Swap the slivered almond for chopped pistachios, hazelnuts, or pecans, or leave the nuts out altogether.
• For that classic oblong shape, cut the slices at a 45 degree angle across each log.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are biscotti so hard?

They’re actually supposed to be hard. Biscotti translates to twice cooked. Just like dried bread this was originally a way of making them last longer.

Are they better with oil or butter?

So  a traditional biscotti recipe would have neither but I use melted butter in mine for some extra richness. I would not recommend using oil.

How long do they keep?

Stored in an airtight container they’ll keep for about 2 weeks. 

Are they healthy?

Biscotti are high in carbs and but for a cookie they’re not that bad for you. I would call them a minor indulgence worth the approximately 150 calories per cookie.

From: The Preppy Kitchen