These crisp biscotti are easy to make and can be enjoyed with coffee, ice cream or simply on their own. The orange extract in this recipe goes nicely with the chocolate and toasted hazelnut flavors. Biscotti is an Italian word and roughly translates to "twice baked". The first phase of baking solidifies the mixture enough that it can be cut into slices without crumbling. The second phase of baking dries out the cookies to obtain the crisp texture. This recipe is a variation on the traditional Italian recipe (Biscotti di Prato) that uses almonds instead of hazelnuts, omits the cocoa powder, and uses almond extract instead of orange extract. |
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 Tablespoon finely ground coffee or espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts (skin removed)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure orange extract
YIELD: Approximately 3-4 dozen
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes until golden. Remove from oven, allow to slightly cool, and rub between your hands or paper towels to remove the skin from the hazelnuts.
- Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla extract and orange extract with the whisk attachment for 1 minute.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, baking soda, salt) in a bowl and add to the egg mixture. Mix with the beater attachment until the ingredients come together.
- Carefully fold in the hazelnuts, being careful to not crush them too much.
- Remove the mixture from the mixing bowl, divide in half and form into two logs of approximate size: 12 in (length) x 2 in (width) x 3/4 in (height) and place on a baking sheet. I place a Silpat on the baking sheet so that they are easy to remove.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes, rotating the baking pan after 25 minutes.
- Remove the baking pan from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 275°F. Carefully remove the logs from the baking pan and place on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes.
- Place one of the logs on a cutting board, at a 45° angle from each side. Using a sharp, serrated knife, begin cutting each log into 1/2 inch slices along the diagonal (see photo below). Positioning the log at an angle will help you cut consistently. Slice the other log in the same way.
- Place the slices flat on a baking sheet and bake for another 30 minutes to dry them, turning them over halfway through the baking time.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, these can be stored in an airtight container.