Traditional biscotti is a great option when you’re out of butter but you still want to bake. This biscotti uses very few ingredients but somehow develops an almost caramelized flavor from all that long and slow baking. It is a very crunchy and toothsome cookie, and I personally like to eat it without dunking it in tea/coffee/wine.
Almond Biscotti
Recipe from Cookie Madness
Makes about 12 biscotti
1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour (170 grams)
2/3 cup granulated sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar (131 grams)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (3.75 ml)
1/4 teaspoon salt (1.25 ml)
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (3.75 ml)
3/4 cups whole almonds, toasted ** (60 grams)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside
In a second bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, beat the eggs until light. Beat in the vanilla.
Blend the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients by hand; the dough should be heavy and sticky.
Add the nuts, and using your hands, knead them into the dough so they are evenly distributed. The dough will be thick and crumbly – moreso if you’ve used white whole wheat flour.
Using wet hands, shape the dough into a log of about 9 x 2 ½ inches. Place the log on the baking sheet.
Bake log at 300 degrees F. for 50 minutes. It will spread quite a bit in the oven. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Leave the oven on. Transfer log to a large cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the log every 1/2 to 3/4 inch on the diagonal. Stand the cut biscotti on the baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Store the cookies in a container that admits air, which will keep them from softening.
**You can toast the almonds quickly in the microwave. Lay them on a paper towel and heat on high for 1 ½ minutes, stopping halfway through to shuffle them around. You can also toast them in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they start to split. Let them cool.
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