Biscotti Toscani

SUBMITTED BY: THEA PHOTO BY: Andrew Gatt

"These twice baked cookies have a delicate flavor, great with vanilla ice-cream, tea, frozen yogurt, or cappuccino."

PREP TIME	25 Min
COOK TIME	35 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 30 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 3 1/2 dozen

USMETRIC

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INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted almond pieces

READ REVIEWS (138)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in almonds. Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12 inches long. Place the loaves 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Place chocolate chips into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Use a spatula to spread chocolate onto one side of each cookie. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store biscotti at room temperature in an airtight container.

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REVIEWS

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS

Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2003 by TLBRAN

I am not a big fan of biscotti, but I am trying to find a nice dessert with a longer shelf life (for gifts) and also something tasty to sell during the holidays. This is my first attempt at making biscotti & I was a little intimidated. I am happy to say that making biscotti is so EASY! I followed the directions of the recipe except I didn't have orange zest. Instead, I added 1-2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier. The biscotti was a HUGE hit. I tested it at a party & everyone thought I should sell it to Starbucks---so much fresher and tastier! After mixing the dough, I let it sit in the mixing bowl for 10-12 minutes so that it could set up. It made it easier to handle (wet hands helped with the stickiness). Also, I baked the biscotti dough on Silpat sheets and had no problems with sticking. I used a serrated knife & had no problems slicing the biscotti. Also, I added a few extra minutes to the second baking because I like a drier biscotti. I can't wait to experiment with more biscotti recipes!!

16 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Dec. 7, 2003 by DesertBorn54

These were fantastic! Thanks,Thea. Spreading the chocolate on each cookie was a bit time-consuming, so on my subsequent batches, I laid out all the cooled cookeies, cut side up, on the baking sheet. I put the slightly cooled melted chocolate in a cake decorating bag with a plain tip and "squiggled" it over the cookies. It was fast, looked great and there was just enough chocolate on each cookie to enhance the orange flavor without overpowering it.

12 users found this review helpful