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Almond Biscotti

Almond Biscotti

This is probably one of my best achievements in the kitchen lately: who would have thought that the oh-so delicious, crunchy, yummy Italian almond Biscotti could ever be produced authentically in my tiny kitchen! It is one of those recipes that has always been in the back burner, but I never seem to have the time to try it, until darling Husband bought a packet of biscotti from the shop and swears its the ‘best thing after sliced bread’.

Well, I beg to differ as I have tried nicer Biscotti before. Back during those medical school days, one of the best cafes that I frequented always served a little chocolate flavoured biscotti with my Cafe Bianca. I always hope to make something as nice as those little cookies they serve, but always thought they were to difficult to master. Then my subsequent travels to Rome and Venice further convinced me that these are speciality goods that no good baker can master that easily.

So this time, many years after I even left my uni town and have a family of my own,  I thought why not, let’s make some homemade biscotti so hubby can have them on- demand in the biscuit tin! 

It is actually quite easy to make, probably a bit pernickety for some, I would say but the results will speak for itself One fine Sunday afternoon, as the Baby was well contented to play with Daddy, I commenced this task of proving that homemade biscotti is better than shop bought. Honestly, they do taste divine…a great accompaniment to a good quality espresso. 

For a seasoned Biscotti lover like me, I couldn’t tell the difference of these munchies compared to the ones we had in Italy, so there you go, I don’t think I need to do any further convincing, eh?

Ingredients

yields: around 30 pieces

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 3/4 cup chopped almond-toasted lightly
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter-melted
  • a pinch of salt 
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp milk

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180C.

1. In a  large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, toasted almonds, sugar and salt together.

2. Whisk eggs and melted butter until a bit fluffy. Pour into the dry ingredientss and mix until it forms a dough. Add in the milk during kneading to ensure a sticky dough consistency.

3. Form 2 oblong cigars of approx 12 inch long from this dough. Flatten the cigars.

4. Grease the baking tray and bake these doughs for 25 minutes until firm to touch.Remove the doughs from the oven and reduce the heat to 150C. Cool the dough for 15 minutes on the wire rack.

5. Place the doughs on the cutting board and using serrated knife, slice the dough diagonally approx. 1/2 inch thick. 

6. Place slices on the tray and bake for around 12 minutes, before turning the cookies over to the other side and bake for another 12 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Once cooled, these biscottis can be stored in an airtight container and will last over 1 month.

Post by Jehanne

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