Recipes / By

biscotti

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup almonds or hazelnuts
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup strong coffee, cooled
  • 1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
  • 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

PROCEDURE:

  1. Preheat your home or bakery oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius.
  2. Place your almonds or hazelnuts on a clean baking sheet and toast these for about 10 to 15 minutes. When the skins on the nuts start to blister and peel, remove these from the oven and cover with a clean towel to let these steam. Let this happen for five to ten minutes. With the same towel, rub the nuts carefully to remove the skins. Cool the nuts and chop coarsely. (If you do not want to do this step, you can purchase roasted and peeled nuts from any baking supply store).
  3. Take a small bowl and mix together the coffee, cream or milk, whole egg, and vanilla extract.  Set aside.
  4. Next, take your electric mixer’s bowl and mix in this your dry ingredients on low (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves). Place your mixer on low to prevent the flying of powdered ingredients out of the bowl.
  5. Once the dry ingredients are mixed, slowly drizzle in your liquid/coffee mixture and mix only until a ball of dough forms. Add in your chocolate chips and chopped nuts and let the mixer run only until these are incorporated into your dough.
  6. Remove the dough from your bowl and place on a clean, floured surface. Divide the dough into half, and roll each half into 10-inch long logs that are 2 inches wide. Place these logs onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet, and bake this for half an hour or until these cookie logs are firm. Make sure your logs are spaced 3 inches apart since these will spread while being baked.
  7. Remove your biscotti logs from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
  8. While your biscotti logs are cooling, reduce your bakery oven heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or 150 degrees Celsius.
  9. Take each log and cut diagonal pieces that are half an inch to 3/4 inch wide. Place these slices flat on your parchment covered cookie sheet and bake on each side for 5 minutes. Cool your twice baked biscotti and serve. These can also be stored in an airtight container and can last for a few months.