Our experiments with baking Biscotti
Over the holidays, a friend sent a bag of home baked biscotti up this way. For those who have never had, biscotti are a dry, twice baked Italian cookie best served with a cup of hot black coffee.
They did not last long.
I remember baking these, many varieties, year ago, and distributing them for Christmas presents. It’s been a while since I’d made any myself, but after the three of us enjoyed the little gift bag we received so much, I figured it was time I tried again.
Here are a couple recipes that we tried this past week. The cookie jar is empty once again; time to try some new ones, so I suppose that means these went over pretty well. Best part about these, besides the wonderful dry crunch, is that they are very easy to make. Experiment with what you can put in them, depending on what you have on hand – keep it simple with just toasted almonds, or get more fancy with orange zest, dried cranberries and pecans.
I hope you try and enjoy.
Biscotti with macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, mix together until smooth and creamy:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
Stir in:
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 teaspoon almond extract
Then combine and stir in the following:
3 ¼ cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Finally, stir in the “mix ins,” in this case, I used:
1 ¼ cups toasted macadamia nuts (to toast the nuts, put them in the hot oven single layer on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes or so)
1 ¼ cups white chocolate chips
I used my hands to finishing the mixing to evenly distribute the “mix ins.”
Then divide the dough in two, and with each half, on a cookie baking sheet, with your hands, form a log about the length of the cookie sheet and almost half the width, and about ½ inch thick. Bake these in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Take them out right before golden brown on top. I found if I waited until browning, they would crumble and be too delicate at the next stage (though they still turned out tasting mighty fine).
On the cookie sheet with a sharp knife or the edge of a metal spatula, cut each baked log into the “cookies,” resulting in long wedge shapes each about 1 inch wide. Spread them out on the cookie sheet and put them back in the oven, and bake for another 6-8 minutes, now until they are golden brown. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack.
Biscotti dough spread out in pan before the first baking
Biscotti with toasted pecans and dark chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, mix together until smooth and creamy:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup white sugar
Stir in:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 teaspoon almond extract
Then combine and stir in the following:
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Finally, stir in the “mix ins,” in this case, I used:
1 cups toasted pecans nuts (to toast the nuts, put them in the hot oven single layer on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes or so)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
I used my hands to finishing the mixing to evenly distribute the “mix ins.”
Then divide the dough in two, and with each half, on a cookie baking sheet, with your hands, form a log about the length of the cookie sheet and almost half the width, and about ½ inch thick. Bake these in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Take them out right before golden brown on top. I found if I waited until browning, they would crumble and be too delicate at the next stage (though they still turned out tasting mighty fine).
On the cookie sheet with a sharp knife or the edge of a metal spatula, cut each baked log into the “cookies,” resulting in long wedge shapes each about 1 inch wide. Spread them out on the cookie sheet and put them back in the oven, and bake for another 6-8 minutes, now until they are golden brown. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack.
And a warm thank you to J. Ruth Kelly for sharing a bit of sunshine today!