Cardamom Almond Biscotti

I followed this recipe with one tiny exception; I ran out of almond extract so had to sub 1 of the teaspoons with vanilla. I used whole almonds and coarsely chopped them and it was really nice to have a chunkier almond crunch to the cookie. I've made biscotti before, but found this recipe difficult to work with. When I went to slice it after the first bake, it crumbled and fell apart very easily and therefore did not make a very nice-looking cookie. I tried, on the second batch, taking it out of the oven earlier than 30 minutes and slicing it; it was still a little doughy in the middle, but it did slice a bit better. Both batches took a lot longer than 5-6 minutes to bake on the second baking. In spite of all of that, they do taste VERY good. I would make them again and try adding more cardamom; really like that spice. Thanks for the recipe, Verna. UPDATE: I gave this another try and made sure that I rolled the dough log out to 15". I also mixed the dough in the food processor, upped the cardamom to 1.5tsp, and, again, did the 2nd bake for 10mins, rather than 5-6. They came out pretty perfect this time. Great golden color and good biscotti texture. I also dipped some of them in white chocolate. These were very popular over the Christmas holidays with our guests; they were going for them even at breakfast time! Thanks again, Verna!

Two things. One, cardamom is an acquired taste. If you're not sure, use ginger with some nutmeg instead. I only use cardamom in savory recipes, for it can be overpowering. I've tried it in biscotti and didn't like it. Second, and most importantly, this recipe doesn't have enough moistening ingredients. You shouldn't have to work to bring together a biscotti dough, and with this, you'll be getting your hands dirty just to force the dough to come together. This almost always leads to a crumbly product come slicing time. Butter doesn't lend itself to great biscotti, either, believe it or not. It's difficult to find the right balance of other moistening ingredients without getting crumbly slices. Too much moisture is just as bad as not enough. Enough rant. Use 3 eggs in this recipe, or two eggs and a tablespoon or two of rum or some other liqueur. Or simply cut back on the flour by a 1/2 cup.