Biscotti—Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café

Aaron really enjoys biscotti.  Well, he enjoys store-bought biscotti.  I don’t know if he ever had homemade until today.  Anyway, I thought he might like these when he’s no longer able to buy them.  I followed the recipes exactly and baked exactly according to the directions.  He just had to say they were a little too hard for him. 

They’re biscotti.  Aren’t they supposed to be hard?  I don’t know.  I’ve never had any until today.  I’m not the biscotti or cookie-dunking type.

Almond Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¹⁄₈   teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 tablespoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Combine the dry ingredients; set aside.  Blend the eggs, almond extract, and vanilla until combined, and then mix in the dry ingredients.  The dough should be thick and sticky.  Do not add more flour. 

Scrape the dough out onto a parchment lined sheet pan.  Flour hands and shape the dough into two long flat logs about 8” long and 4” wide.  Bake until firm and dry, about 50 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes.

Slice into ½” wide pieces.  Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake another 10 minutes.  Turn the slices over and bake 10 minutes more, or until the cookies are a light golden brown.  Cool the biscotti on a rack; cool completely before storing.

Snickerdoodle Biscotti

2 ³⁄₄ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, and whole eggs in a small bowl, and then stir this into the flour mixture.  The dough will be dry and crumbly.  Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead 7-8 times. 

Divide dough in half.  Form each half into an 8” log.  Place logs 6” apart on parchment.  Flatten each log to 1” thickness.

Whisk the egg white and brush the tops of the dough logs with the egg white. 

Combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the dough logs. 

Bake until firm and dry, about 50 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes.

Slice into ½” wide pieces.  Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake another 10 minutes.  Turn the slices over and bake 10 minutes more, or until the cookies are a light golden brown.  Cool the biscotti on a rack; cool completely before storing.

Chocolate Biscotti

¾ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

1 cup granulated sugar

1 ³⁄₄ cups all-purpose flour

¹⁄₃ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the chocolate and sugar and blend until the chocolate is very fine. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla.  On low speed, add the chocolate and flour mixtures and mix until a stiff dough forms.  Add in the walnuts.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and press it together. Divide in half. Form each half into a log 12”.

Place the logs 6” apart on the parchment.

Bake 45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.

Slice into ½” wide pieces. Return the slices cut side down to the baking sheet.  Bake an additional 10 minutes on each side. 

Cool the biscotti on a rack; cool completely before storing.

Family reviews:  Aaron suggests that they shouldn’t be baked so long.  The rest of us all think they taste fine.  We just aren’t biscotti people.  I do think about the chocolate ones every once in a while.  The dough was really tasty.