How to Make Biscotti

Biscotti is best served with a hot cup of coffee for dunking.

Biscotti is a classic Italian cookie, and almond biscotti is considered the "original" flavor. It is a hard cookie, served in long thick strips as opposed to the traditional round, flat cookie Americans are familiar with. Biscotti is frequently served with espresso or cappuccino, and it is dunked into the coffee to soften it and enhance the flavor of the biscotti. Biscotti is often dusted with cinnamon and sugar, sliced almonds or chocolate before baking. It is similar in shape and texture to Mandelbrot, a traditional Jewish cookie.

Things You'll Need

• 1 cup blanched whole almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the almonds on a baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes. Your kitchen should smell like almonds when they are ready.

2. Pull them out of the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Let the almonds cool for 15 minutes.

3. Put the almonds in a bag and smash them with a jar or mallet until they are coarsely chopped.

4. Beat the eggs. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.

5. Mix together the dry ingredients: baking powder, salt, flour and sugar. Stir until they are combined thoroughly.

6. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg and extract mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until it begins to form a dough. Add the smashed almonds, then finish mixing the dough.

7. Scatter some flour on a clean, hard surface. Roll the dough into a log shape, until it's about a foot long and four inches wide. Add some more flour to the baking tray and place the biscotti on the tray.

8. Bake the biscotti for 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven and touch it quickly in the center. If it is still soft, put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. When the biscotti is hard, take it out of the oven and let it cool until you can handle it, approximately 10 minutes.

9. Slice the biscotti into ½ inch pieces. Put the slices back on the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes on each side. Serve, or store in an airtight container.

References

• Almond Biscotti Recipe