Almond Biscotti

Need a pairing for your coffee or tea ? Almond Biscotti is a perfect dunking “cookie” to have with your breakfast or midday beverage of  your  choice. This recipe, shared with me by my sister-in-law, Ellen, was definitely something I needed to add to my baking repetoire. With a slight tweak, this delightful Italian cookie was created.

The History of Biscotti:

The Latin-derived name means  “twice-baked”. It was created with the purpose of fueling the Roman Legions on their long journeys and conquests. The second bake dried out and preserved the biscotti and gave it a longer shelf-life suitable for such travels. It reemerged during the mid-1800’s by an Italian baker, Antonio Mattei. In Italy, it is common to serve it with Vino Santo which is a sweet wine with flavors of hazelnut, caramel and apricot. I must find some of that! This would be a perfect ending to a special meal with friends or just to have with your morning coffee or afternoon tea!

Creating Biscotti:

Some minimal prep work is required. I only have a small food processor, but it seemed perfect for this adventure. Truth be told, I broke my other larger one by overloading it when attempting to make sugarplums for a Nutcracker Cast Party. They turned out well, the food processor, not so much. I still haven’t replaced it to this day.  Anyway, pulse 1 cup of whole almonds about 8-10 times. They should appear coarsely chopped. You can see this in a few steps below when they are added. Place them in a small bowl on the side for now.

For the other dry ingredients, pulse together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt for about 15 seconds; set aside in a small bowl.

Using the food processor again, add the 2  large eggs. Process them until they are about twice their volume, about 3 minutes. They will be light in color and frothy. Then, add the granulated sugar and process until blended, about 15 seconds. Finally, blend in the melted butter, which has been allowed of cool, with the vanilla and almond extracts. Pour this into a medium -sized bowl.

Gently fold in half of the flour, about 1 cup, into the egg mixture.

Add in the remainder of the flour with the processed (chopped) almonds.

I drew two 8″ x 3″ rectangles onto parchment paper.  I actually cut out a piece of cardboard and traced them with a permanent marker.  Then, flipped the parchment paper over where they can still be seen as an outline used to form the biscotti. Split the dough evenly onto the parchment paper; either eyeball it or weigh it.

Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour. Using floured hands to flatten and form the dough into the outlined rectangles or “logs” by which they are known. To even out the top, you could use a floured rolling pin, if desired. I did and you can see the top surface is fairly smooth.  Whisk the large egg white with a pinch of salt until light and frothy. Brush onto the top and sides as seen below.

Baking Times Two:

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes on a middle rack, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Remove pan to a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. This “big cookie” smells amazing!

After a cooling period, remove one log at a time and slice on a diagonal about 1/2″-3/4″ apart using a serrated knife.

Place cut pieces about 1/4″ apart onto a wire rack placed in same baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and flip over biscotti slices. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Allow these slightly golden wonders to cool off completely. Look at those almond chunks! I can’t wait to dunk these in my coffee or tea!

I love this picture! Yes, the Almond Biscotti is amazing, but the china belonged to my grandmother for whom I was named . It was perfect for this picture with a cup of elderberry tea. I doubt she ever made biscotti, but I think she would have enjoyed dunking them in her coffee. Bake on!