Mom's Biscotti
By: Anonymous
Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - 11:50pm

Ingredients




2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups whole almonds, coarsely chopped

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  2 Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, almond extract, and almonds. Mix thoroughly until dough holds together. Add half of reserved egg white, if necessary, to make a cohesive dough. 3 With wet hands, shape dough into 4 logs, each 6” long and 1 ¾“ in diameter. Place 3-4” apart on baking sheets. Bake on middle rack of oven until logs are light golden brown and spring back when touched (about 24 minutes). Cool 15 minutes. 4 Lower oven to 275. Slice logs with a serrated knife diagonally into 1/2” slices. Return to oven and bake until completely dry and crisp throughout (about 40 minutes). Cool.

About


Biscotti means "twice cooked" in Italian (biscotto in its singular form).  Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in long slabs, cutting these into slices, and baked once more to dry them out. Because they are low moisture cookies they are able to be stored for long periods of time. In Italy, biscotti are often served with wine, such as vin cotto. In the U.S. they are often served with coffee. A true biscotto should be hard and crisp, not soft and cakey.
There are many variations, but here are some recommendations: 1 t. orange extract, zest of 1 orange with 1-½ c. pistachio nuts. Can also use pine nuts or hazelnuts in place of almonds. Also delicious half-dipped in chocolate.