By special request from my roommate Ro I made these biscotti. People are usually intimidated to make biscotti but it is really fairly simple and is a great cookie for coffee or tea, or sweet Italian wine(vin santo). Biscotti is a type of Italian cookie that translates to “biscuit” in English. What is particularly special about this cookie is that it is baked twice. The word “biscotti” in Italian breaks down to “bis” meaning twice and “cotto” meaning baked so the cookie is “twice-baked.” Biscotti was created in the Roman time period and were baked twice to allow for longer storage in journeys or wars. Therefore, biscotti is a hard cookie and you do need a drink for dunking to make them softer and edible.
The recipe posted here but was not my own invention. I retrieved the recipe from Cooks.com and the link is here. Here are just a few pictures to help you if you decide to try them out.
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ORANGE ALMOND BISCOTTI
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2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Finely grated zest of one orange (put orange in freezer for approximately 30 minutes for easier grating)
1/2 c. coarsely chopped almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking sheet. Use vegetable shortening. In large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Make a well in center of mixture. Add eggs, oil, extract, grated zest of orange and almonds to the well. With your hands work dry mixture with liquids until a dough has formed. Divide dough in half. Form 2 ropes across length of baking sheet. Bake 30- 35 minutes until lightly colored on top. Remove from oven and cool slightly. With a long, sharp knife, cut ropes on the diagonal, 3/4 inch slices. Place slices back on baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for additional 15 minutes until golden and slightly dried. Biscotti should have somewhat hard and crunch texture.
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Forming two ropes:
Slicing the ropes on a biased(slant) after the first baking:
Arranging the cut biscotti on a baking pan for the second baking:
The finished biscotti, crispy and browned:
Warm presentation:
