Recipe and Tutorial: Espresso Chocolate Almond Biscotti

A confession: I'm a huge lover of soft, almost gooey cookies; for example, I love biting into a soft, super chocolatey, chocolate chip cookie, and letting the aromas and flavours of good quality chocolate and vanilla roll around on my tongue. How could people not love the intense flavour melding with a gooey cookie?

In other words, I am not so much of a fan of the crunchy cookies.  I always manage to drop bits of them on me, and I'm always worried that I look like Cookie Monster when I eat them. There is simply no way to look dainty eating a cookie that crumbles away in your hand as you try to consume it.

Having said that, I firmly believe in "different strokes for different folks", and my lesser-enjoyed cookie may well be another's favourite ever-EVAR.  So is the case for biscotti.  I cannot envision a time where I would make biscotti for myself as a treat (though I discount nothing), but some of my clients are positively gaga for them, and will order those over virtually anything else I could offer them. 

**shrug**

The recipe below is one I developed recently for a specific client, to have a bit of a "change up" from the same two biscotti recipes he orders from me every few weeks. In fact, I made some for him just a few days ago, and he was such a huge fan, he opened a package right then and there and started offering them out to his clients on the spot. There's no better advertising than a huge, goofy grin and "yum" face as someone eats something you baked for them!

Give them a try, if you like a crispy, crunchy cookie that is strong enough for you to dip in your latte or espresso; keep in mind, however, that as light in colour as they look, they are actually *very* intense and on the bitter-chocolate side in flavour.

Espresso Chocolate Almond Biscotti 

Prep Time: 25min | Bake Time: 40min + 20min | Cool Time: 20min + 30min

Yield: 24 biscotti

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temp
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ¼ cups pastry flour
• 1tsp baking powder              
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 cup milk or dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup slivered or whole almonds, blanched
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a heavy duty cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds.
4. Shape dough into one large, flat log approximately 18 inches long by 8 inches diameter. Place log on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 3/4" thickness. Brush with the beaten egg white.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden and the center is firm, about 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking. Remove from oven to cool on the pans for about 15 minutes.
   Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for second baking.
6. When loaf is cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice into 1/2" thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet, spread apart from one another by 1/4".
7. Bake in reduced heat oven about 15-20 minutes, or until they start to turn light brown on the edges. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

Recipe and Tutorial: Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee Biscotti

Hoo boy! I am giving you the recipe for one of the most delicious cookies in my arsenal!

...hmmm, arsenal....why does that word look so RUDE?  I don't want to talk about cookies in my arsenal....I think I need food. My mind wanders when it's hungry.

Back to the point!  Yes, these biscotti are frelling delicious! They are so deep, dark and chocolatey, and the toasted hazelnuts work well with the toffee and chocolate....it's like a grownup's Nutella With a little twist.

This is a 5kg jar of Nutella. WTH.

Although from what I've seen of those friends around me who grew up with Nutella and are still horribly addicted to it to this day, Nutella is the grownup's Nutella. Doing a quick, casual Google image search for Nutella indicates that people are deeply bug-nutty for this stuff.  I was brought up in a British household, peeples...the closest I ever got to Nutella was peanut butter.  I had never even heard of hazelnuts until I was in my twenties.

Again with the wanderings!  Sorry. I really need some food. But I'll pass on the Nutella if I could have a plate of these Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee Biscotti...mmmm...

Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee Biscotti 

Yield: about 30 biscotti

• 1 cup (150 g) toasted and chopped hazelnuts
• 4 ounces (120 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (210 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 ¾ cups (230 g) all-purpose flour
• ¹/₃ cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon (4 g) instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup toffee bits

Topping:

• 1 egg white, lightly whisked
• ¼ cup white sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177˚ C). To toast hazelnuts: spread on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned and the skins begin to blister and peel. Remove from oven and place the nuts in a clean dish towel. Roll up the towel and let the nuts 'steam' for 5 minutes and then briskly rub the towel (with nuts inside) to remove the skins from the nuts.  Cool and then chop coarsely.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300˚ F (150˚ C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, place the coarsely chopped chocolate and brown sugar and process until the chocolate is very fine.

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.

Beat the eggs and vanilla extract until combined (about 30 seconds). Add the chocolate/sugar mixture and the flour mixture and beat until a stiff dough forms, adding the hazelnuts and toffee bits about half way through mixing.
 


Scrape bowl and, with floured hands, divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half into a log about 10” long, 4” wide and 1” tall. Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 3” apart. Lightly whisk the egg white with a tablespoon of water, and brush over tops and sides of logs, coating sparingly but evenly.  Sprinkle both logs immediately with sanding sugar.

Bake until almost firm to the touch, about 35 - 40 minutes (logs will spread during baking). Remove from the oven, place on wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes.

Using a long spatula transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife cut the dough into slices 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. 

 
Arrange the slices standing on-end on the baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet(s) and bake for another 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. 

Store in an airtight container for several weeks.

Recipe and Tutorial: Gingerbread Biscotti

I have a regular customer who loves loves LOVES my gingerbread biscotti! While he is Croatian, he has a poker party nearly every weekend, and his fellow players are mostly Italian...and Italians know good biscotti, letmetellyou. I am constantly informed of how GOOD these are, and that no matter how many dozen he buys, there are never any left over at the end of the evening.  My father used to call this phenomenon "moreish", as in when you eat something that is so tasty, you end up having a little bit more, and then some more, until they're all gone.

This recipe is one I developed specifically for this customer, and is one of two "go-to" favourites of his; the other favourite will be the topic for another post! This gingerbread biscotti recipe can be made with or without nuts, but I usually make it without, since I am often pairing it with the other biscotti recipe that's chock full of them!

Don't be nervous or afraid of making biscotti if this is your first time; they are essentially cookies, but baked twice so they dry out crisp and firm, which leaves them the perfect vehicles for dunking in your coffee or espresso to soften.

The recipe below is a bit fiddly and involved, but most of the ingredients are spices and fruit, so once those are combined, it's much easier.  Don't skip the processing of the rolled oats; this makes for a firmer cookie.

Gingerbread Biscotti

Yield: approximately 30 biscotti

• 1 cup (100g) old fashioned rolled oats, divided
• 1 ¾ cups (225g) all purpose flour
• ¾ cup (160g) dark brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¹/₈ tsp ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup (60ml) fancy molasses
• 2 tbsp light oil
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp crystallized ginger, minced
• 2 cups of three of the following: raisins (any kind), dried cranberries, dried blueberries, currants, pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), chopped dates, chopped dried apricots, white chocolate chips, mixed nuts, lightly toasted and chopped

Topping:

• 2 (60 g) egg whites, lightly beaten
• ½ cup white sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350˚F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (silicone baking mat). 

In a food processor, finely grind ½ cup (50 grams) of the rolled oats. Combine the finely ground oats with the remaining whole oats and the other dry ingredients.
 
Whisk together the eggs, molasses, oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Slowly add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, and beat just until combined. Mix in the chopped mix-ins until just incorporated.
 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Form each half into a flattened bar about 12” long and 5” wide. Transfer the bars to the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 3” apart.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch. Remove from oven, immediately brush the top lightly with beaten egg white, and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar; let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, or just long enough so you can hold the cookie bar for cutting without burning your fingers.


Reduce oven temperature to 300˚F.  Transfer the partially cooled bars to a cutting board and cut into ¾” slices.  Place the biscotti back on the baking sheet face-up, leaving about ½” between each cookie.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until dry and firm. Remove and let cool completely.

Can be stored in an airtight container for several weeks.