Almond Biscotti - Laura

Almond Biscotti

Ahh, I finally had time to make something!:)  This Italian cookie is one of my mom's favorite desserts, and I thought I'd take the time to make some for her since today is her birthday.  Even though they are very crunchy cookies when eaten alone, biscotti melt beautifully in a cup of hot coffee, tea, cocoa, and anything else you can think of.  I hope you guys enjoy this if you ever decide to make some! 

Random fun fact: biscotto is the singular form of biscotti:) 

Almond Biscotti 

Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Servings: ±14 biscotti

Time: ~ 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

2.25 cups all-purpose flour

0.75 cups sugar (either brown or white; I used half white, half light brown)

0.5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

~1 T vanilla extract (almond extract works too if you want a stronger almond flavor)

3 eggs

1 cup sliced almonds (blanched and not blanched both work) 

extra flour for hands and kneading surface

Optional:

dash of nutmeg to taste 

dash of cinnamon to taste

extra white sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon sugar 

Notes:

This recipe is really fun to customize, so do with it as you wish!  Fresh sweetened cranberries, craisins, orange zest, and lemon zest are all fun things that can be added to this recipe to give it a different kick.  Biscotti are also frequently made with cornmeal, so next time I'll update this post with cornmeal biscotti! 

Process: 

1. Lightly mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl.

2. Add three eggs, vanilla or almond extract (or both!), and cinnamon and nutmeg (if using). 

3. Mix until the ingredients form a wet dough.  Initially, the mixture seems very dry and crumbly, but continue mixing and it should start to form a dough.  Add almonds.

4. Preheat the oven to 325° F and lightly grease a baking sheet or spray with Pam.

5. After adding the almonds and preheating the oven, lightly flour your hands and briefly knead the dough inside the bowl. Transfer to a floured surface and continue to knead, just for a couple minutes. You can choose not to knead the mixture and to continue to mix with a spatula, but the warmth in your hands really helps the dough form well.

6. Make sure to not overwork the dough.  It should look like this:

6. Divide the dough into two portions and form into two long strips.  Transfer to your lightly greased baking sheet.  I topped mine with a simple cinnamon sugar mixture (about 2 tsp white sugar and a generous dash of cinnamon; mix in your hand and sprinkle to taste) and more almonds. 

7. Bake at 325° F for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. 

 8. After cooling, cut biscotti diagonally with a serrated knife and place back on baking sheet. Decrease the oven temperature to 300° F and place the baking sheet back into the oven. 

9. Bake for 10 minutes, flip biscotti, and bake for another 10 minutes until they are just beginning to brown.

10. I drizzled mine with an easy dark chocolate sauce, but you can also dip them in chocolate or leave them as they are:) 

Chocolate Sauce: 

0.5 cups Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips

~ 3 T coffee creamer 

You can just melt the chocolate like usual, but I always add in some coffee creamer and stir as I melt mine.  The fat in the creamer keeps the chocolate from overheating and gives the sauce a lovely consistency. 

Serve with a good cup of coffee or whatever you like!:)