The perfect accompaniment with your cup of coffee. Try Classic Almond or variations such as cranberry-pistachio and chozolate-hazelnut!
One of my best food memories (and you know I’ve got tons of them!) is that of my husband and I sitting at a winery in Tuscany sampling vin santo, a sweet Italian dessert wine, with classic almond biscotti. The view of the countryside dotted with neatly terraced vineyards and cypress trees was breathtaking. I thought to myself, “it doesn’t get better than this!” I tried to recreate that experience with a bottle of vin santo and biscotti back at home, but somehow it just wasn’t the same.
Biscotti is an Italian word (as well as the plural of biscotto) meaning twice baked. It is also the general Italian word for cookies. While we call these cookies biscotti, in Italy they are commonly referred to as cantucci or a smaller version cantuccini.
Making biscotti
All of the dough ingredients (as listed in the recipe below) are mixed in 1 bowl.
To make things a little more interesting I decided to introduce a few variations on the typical almond biscotti such as pistachio and dried cranberry as well as hazelnut and chocolate. This recipe makes it easy to try all three combinations since the dough is divided into three logs. If you opt for this add 2/3 cup of ingredients for each piece of dough.
Simply knead the ingredients of your choice into the dough:
Shape the dough into a long and narrow rectangle and bake.
Once slightly cooked, the cookies are then sliced and baked once again until crisp.
Tips and storage suggestions
- The dough is very sticky. Slightly damp hands will help handle the dough easier to shape into logs.
- Since biscotti are twice baked they have no moisture left in them. Therefore they can be stored at room temperature in a cool dry place for 2 weeks.
- They can also be frozen well sealed in plastic wrap for months.
Classic Almond Biscotti are what my mother has always made and I had not had them in a long time. I recently taught a biscotti making class using my mother’s recipe and I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate, once again, this simple cookie.
Since they keep well, they’re the perfect cookie to have on hand for company or to give away as gifts. Let me know how much you love your biscotti by tagging me with your photos with @mangiabedda or #mangiabedda on Facebook or Instagram. Feel free to share this recipe as well!
Classic Almond Biscotti with Variations
Biscotti are classic Italian cookies. In this recipe I am offering you three delicious variations including classic almond; pistachio and cranberry; and chocolate hazelnut.
Ingredients
- 7 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- finely grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- Possible add-ins:
- 2 cups cups coarsely chopped almonds
- 1 cup each shelled pistachios and 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup each roasted hazelnuts, skins removed, and chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil and zest.
Add the flour and baking powder and stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will resemble a very soft bread dough. Stir in the almonds (or other ingredient combinations as suggested) and distribute evenly throughout the dough.
- Divide the dough into three pieces. On a lightly floured surface, shape each piece into a log approximately 30 cm long by 8 cm wide. Transfer each log onto the baking sheet.
If you are trying all 3 variations, divide the dough into 3. Kneed 2/3 cup of ingredients (2/3 cup of almonds; 1/3 cup each pistachios and almonds; 1/3 cup each hazelnuts and chocolate chips) into each dough.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until lightly golden in color.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 275F. Place each log on a cutting board. With a serrated knife, slice each log into 1 cm cookies. Transfer the cookies back onto the baking sheets and continue baking for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway, or until the desired level of crispness.
- Transfer to the wire rack and let cool completely.
Recipe Notes
- The dough is very sticky. Slightly damp hands will help handle the dough easier to shape into logs.
- Since biscotti are twice baked they have no moisture left in them. Therefore they can be stored at room temperature in a cool dry place for 2 weeks.
- They can also be frozen well sealed in plastic wrap for months.
- Please note that the nutritional information is not necessarily accurate as it may vary according to the ingredients you choose to add to your biscotti.
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