According to the book, the word biscotti means "twice cooked." Just thought I'd throw in a free Italian lesson for you there!
Please by sure to read "Tips for Biscotti" at the bottom of this post.
***Orange and Almond Biscotti***
Just made this today - they are heavenly. So, I hunted high and low (well, 3 grocery stores *including the "ritzy" one near my parents' house, and my mom's cabinets - she has all kinds of weird baking stuff! - I could not find candied orange peel to save my life. :( Oh well, I decided to just get some chunky marmalade and dig the bits of orange peel out of that.. almost the same thing! We'll see how it works... It works! I ended up using a bit less than 2/3 of a cup with the marmalade - really great!
I bet this would be amazing with a nice iced coffee - nothing fancy; just strong brewed coffee with some milk/cream poured over ice. Nice summery coffee break.
**Probably should have taken that broken one out of the photo! lol... these were so delicious - nice and light and quite tender for a biscotti. The marmalade worked wonderfully!**Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup whole blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup candied orange peel, cut into 1/4 inch diced pieces (see note above - I subbed 1/3 cup plus about another 1/6 of a cup of orange marmalade. I just did my best at pulling out the pieces of orange peel. Worked really well!)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
Method:
1. Prepare pans by covering 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil (or use a silicone baking mat).
2. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir well to mix.
4. Cut the butter into six or eight pieces and add to the bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Reach down to the bottom of the bowl and make sure no dry ingredients "escape" the butter (what is this? Alcatraz?!) Rub and distribute the butter evenly until there are no longer any large pieces of butter and the mixture is cool and powdery.
5. Add the almonds and orange peel to the flour and butter mixture and toss to combine.
6. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and add the dry ingredients. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the ingredients together until they form a dough.
7. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and press it together. Shape the dough into a 12-inch cylinder and divide it in half. Roll each half under your hands to re-form it as a thinner 12-inch cylinder. Place the logs on one of the prepared pans, not too close to each other or to the sides of the pan. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the logs.
8. Bake the logs for 25-30 minutes or until they are well-risen, well-coloured, and firm when pressed with a fingertip. Place the pan on a rack to cool.
9. Reset the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven but leave the temperature at 350 degrees. Place each of the cooled logs on a cutting board and slice them diagonally every 1/3 inch. Arrange the biscotti on the prepared pans, cut side down. You don't need to leave space between them - they will not spread. Bake the biscotti for 15-20 minutes or until they are well toasted. Cool on the pan on a rack.
10. Store the biscotti between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.
***Classic Tuscan Biscotti a.k.a. Cantuccini***
This will make 60 biscotti.
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups whole unblanched almonds
3 large eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
Method:
1. Prepare pans by covering 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil (or use a silicone baking mat).
2. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon; stir well to mix it all together. Stir in the almonds.
4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to stir the eggs into the dry ingredients. Continue to stir until a stiff dough forms.
5. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half under the palms of your hands into a cylinder a little shorter than the baking sheet. Place the logs of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure they are not too close to each other or to the sides of the pan. Press down gently with the palm of your hand to flatten the logs.
6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the logs are well-risen and have also spread to about double their original size. The logs are done if they feel firm when pressed with a fingertip. Place the pan on a rack and let the logs cool completely.
7. Reset the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven but leave the temperature at 350 degrees. Place each of the cooled logs on a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/3 inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti on the prepared pans, cut side down. You don't need to leave space between them - they will not spread any more. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are well-toasted. Cool the pan on a rack.
8. Store the biscotti between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.
***Chocolate Chunk Biscotti***
Makes about 60 bisotti
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
2 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 ounces milk chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method:
1. Prepare pans by covering 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil (or use a silicone baking mat).
2. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; stir well to mix. Stir in the sugar and chocolates.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla and using a large rubber spatula stir the eggs into the flour mixture to form a dough.
5. On a lightly floured surface, press the dough together - it will be sticky. Flour your hands and the surface lightly, but do not add any more flour to the dough. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log the length of your pan. Place the logs on a pan, making sure they are not too close to each other or to the sides of the pan. Press down lightly with the palm of your hand to flatten the logs (use a dry brush to remove excess flour if necessary). Bake for about 30 minutes, until the logs are well-risen and have also spread to about double in size. The logs are done when they feel firm when pressed with a fingertip. Cool the logs on the pan.
6. Reset the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the baked logs diagonally about every 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Return the biscotti to the pans, cut side down, and bake in the 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are dry and crisp. Cool on a wire rack.
7. Store the biscotti between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.
***Tips for Biscotti***
These were some handy hints and tips I read in the "Cookies Unlimited" book. Useful for those trying biscotti for the first time.
*If the dough seems soft, it is correct. Do not add extra flour to the biscotti doughs or your resulting cookies will be cement-like (not exactly the effect we're shooting for here!)
*If you need to flour the work surface to handle the dough more easily, do so. When the dough is safely on the pan just brush off the excess flour with a dry pastry brush.
*Make sure you bake the biscotti enough the first time around. If the centers of the logs are not baked through, they will compress when you slice them (sink like a souffle) and harden during the second baking (there's those cement cookies again!)
*Use a really sharp knife to slice the biscotti. Cutting with a dull knife will make the log shatter.
*The thinner you slice the biscotti, the more pan room you will need for the second baking. Malgieri suggests one cookie sheet per log of biscotti.
*Watch the biscotti carefully during the second baking. Most biscotti have a fairly high sugar content and will burn easily if left unattended.
*Cool biscotti on their pans - the extra bit of drying time will make them even crisper (this is what you want for a "dunking" cookie).
*Biscotti are the perfect "keeping cookie" - just be sure to store them in airtight containers and away from humidity.
Reference for recipes and "Tips for Biscotti" section:
Malgieri, Nick (2000). Cookies Unlimited. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY.
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