Biscotti Cioccolato

Biscotti Cioccolato
Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 237.

It has been a long time since I've made biscotti. In Maida's book "The Brand New Book of Great Cookies", she devotes an entire chapter to biscotti. I've tried three of them (Palm Beach Biscotti, Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti and Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti). All were delicious. In checking my dates, I see that the last one I made was in 2013! That seems inconceivable but there it is.

I was recently corresponding with a fellow Maida fan and she highly recommended this recipe which is from another book (Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever). This "Biscotti Cioccolato" was featured in a New York Times article. And my friend is right, it is fabulous with a rich, chocolate flavor and it smells divine when baking.

I was afraid to try biscotti the first time I made it but it happens to be very easy. It is time-consuming because you have to bake it twice (but hey, at least you don't have to blanch the almonds). It feels like a strange thing to do and I wonder how someone came up with the idea. Surely it was a mistake that turned out to be delicious.

1 1/4 cups whole unblanched almonds

3 large eggs

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 cups sifted unbleached flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

2 TBS. instant espresso or coffee powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350. Toast the almonds for 12 minutes and set aside. Line two cookie sheets with foil.

Beat the eggs with the brown sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts.

In a mixer bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, ginger, cocoa powder, espresso and sugar.

Place the chocolate in a food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and process for one minute.

Now you have three mixtures - the flour mixture, the chocolate/flour mixture and the egg/brown sugar mixture.

Place the flour mixture into the mixer bowl and add the chocolate/flour mixture and the egg/brown sugar mixture -

Beat in the nuts -

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Lightly sift a bit of flour over the top of the dough. Cut the dough in half.

Lightly flour all sides and turn the dough a few times and then form it into an oval shape about 10 inches long -

Carefully transfer the dough to the cookie sheet. The dough may be soft so do it slowly.

Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough -

Bake both sheets at the same time for 50 minutes, reversing the sheets about halfway through.

Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 275. Transfer the biscotti to a cutting board and cut it into 1" strips with a serrated knife -

Place the cookies cut side down on the cookie sheets again and put them back in the oven. Bake an additional 30-40 minutes, turning them over about halfway through.

Cool completely. If desired, you can ice one side of the biscotti with melted bittersweet chocolate ( a 4 ounce bar should be enough).

I iced about half of them and of course I liked the chocolate covered ones best of all!

Palm Beach Biscotti

Palm Beach Biscotti
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 31.

This is the third biscotti recipe that I have tried from Maida's book "Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies". The entire first chapter is devoted to biscotti and there are about 10 recipes altogether. The previous recipes I tried (Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti and Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti) were so popular with friends and family that they have been pestering me to make more.

Biscotti is surprisingly easy to make but it does take some time as you have to freeze it and rebake it a second time. The hardest part for me is during the final baking and removing it from the oven before it overbakes. You have to keep a constant eye on it.

The great thing about biscotti is that is will last forever if stored in an airtight container. I made this batch to take on our beach vacation a few weeks ago. I didn't have time to get final photos so I left a some in the kitchen so I could take the photos after we returned. That batch tastes the same as the previous one. 

If you like biscotti (and it is addictive), try and make your own. It is so much better than that purchased in stores.

1 1/2 cups sifted unbleached flour
Scant 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
10 oz. (3 cups) pecan halves (or large pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use the lower 1/3 rack. Butter 2 loaf pans (they need to have a 6 cup capacity) and dust them generously with fine, dry bread crumbs and set aside.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter until soft and add the vanilla extract.

 

Add the sugar...

 

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients until mixed.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the pecans.

Divide the batter between the 2 loaf pans - smooth the tops. Form a trench down the middle of each loaf - this will prevent them from forming a high mound.

Bake for about 55 minutes, reversing the pans about halfway through to ensure evening baking.

Wet 2 paper towels, fold them in half and place on top of each loaf. This will prevent a crust from forming on top of the loaves that would crumble when cut.

Now cover with aluminum foil. Let the cakes cool.

After cooling, remove the aluminum foil and the paper towels. Carefully removed from the pans. The loaves will be very shallow. Wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and freeze for several hours or longer.

After removing the loaves from the freezer, allow them to sit for about 5 minutes to slightly thaw. Use a long, serrated bread knife (or similar) to slice the cake into thin slices. Preheat your oven to 325 while doing this.

The sliced pieces must now be baked again. Place them on an unlined cookie sheet. Return them to the 325 degree oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (it may take longer depending on the thickness). Watch them carefully - as soon as they start to change color (to a darker brown), remove them from the oven. You may have to remove them one at a time as they will not all bake at the same time. Place them on paper towels to cool. After cooling, they can be stored in an airtight container.

Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti

Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 40.

It has been a year since I made my first and so far only biscotti recipe (Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti). We had some friends over last night for dinner and games. I had a ton of desserts that I've been working on the past week and had the biscotti on a tray with the pfeffernusse and peanut brittle. The biscotti got the most raves. This one will definitely be a repeater.

I had started to make this a few mornings ago and was in the process of mixing the ingredients when the power went out. It came back in 5 minutes only to go off again a few minutes later. Fortunately the outage was brief and by the time I was ready to bake, it didn't happen again.  

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract or 1/4 tsp. bitter almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups sifted unbleached flour
7 1/2 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) roasted and lightly salted whole macadamia nuts (Mauna Loa is a good brand, already salted and roasted)

Ajust the oven rack 1/3 or 1/4 down from the top (if you use a lower rack, the biscotti may become too dark). Preheat to 350. Line a flat cooking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Beat the butter.

 

Add the vanilla.

Add the almond extract.

Add the salt.

Add the sugar. Mix well.

Beat in the egg.

    

On low speed, add the flour, beating only until incorporated.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon.

Divide the dough in half and form two loafs by placing heaping tablespoons of the dough in a strip about 9 inches long on a piece of plastic wrap about 15 inches long.

Pull the plastic wrap over the dough and press down to form a strip about 9 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Turn upside down and smooth the other side. Repeat the process with the other loaf. Place the loaves in the freezer for about 10 minutes, just so they become non-sticky to be unwrapped.

Unwrap the dough and place on the cookie sheet. This will spread about 4 inches wide so make sure there is some space between the loaves and on the sides. Bake for 25 minutes, reversing the sheet front to back halfway through.

Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300. The baked loaves are fragile. Carefully slide them from the sheet to a cutting board.

Allow the loaves to sit for 5 minutes, then take a sharp knife and slice them crosswise on a slight angle, 3/4 to 1 inch wide.

Stand the slices up on the cookie sheet and bake for another 20-25 minutes. When done, the slices will be golden on the tops and lightly colored on the sides. Smaller pieces will bake sooner and should be removed one by one when they are ready.

Cool on a brown paper bag or paper towels. Handle carefully (some of the nuts may fall out) and store in an airtight container.

Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti

Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 17.

Two firsts for me - making biscotti and blanching almonds. I've noticed that a lot of Maida's recipes call for blanched almonds. It is a simple, albeit time-consuming chore. If you are new to blanching almonds as well, all you do is bring a pan of water to a boil, remove it and place your almonds in the water. Let them sit for one minute, pour out the water and place the almonds on a towel. The skins will pop out when you squeeze them. A method that worked well for me was standing the almonds upright and slightly pushing down on the tips. I found that skins came off much easier this way.

The whole biscotti recipe is a long process. It bakes twice, the first go-around for one hour and the last time for 40 minutes. However, putting it together is not that difficult and you have a lot of down time during the baking sessions. Biscotti is addictive and it keeps well and makes a nice present for the holidays. Maida notes that if you prefer your biscotti softer, you can place it in a sealed paper bag for two or three days.

The first chapter of "Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies" is devoted to biscotti with about ten different recipes. So, if you are a biscotti lover, there is more to come!

This recipe makes about 50 pieces.

7 oz. (1 1/3 cups) whole blanched (skinned) almonds
7 oz. milk chocolate (Hershey's Symphony bar or other)
1 3/4 cups sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process recommended)
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Toast the almonds in a shallow pan at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice. Set aside to cool.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a food processor.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa and sugar.  Add about a cup of this mixture to the chocolate.

Process for about 30 seconds, until the chocolate is fine and powdery.

Add the processed chocolate mixture to the remaining sifted ingredients. Stir in the almonds.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl with the vanilla just enough to mix.

Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.

This will be a tad difficult to stir. A wooden spoon is recommended. Keep at it until it is well mixed.

Place two 20-inch lengths of plastic wrap on a work surface. Spoon a strip of dough down the middle of each. The strips should be about 13-14 inches long. Flatten the tops with a wet spoon. Lift the sides of the plastic wrap and drape it over the roll. Use your fingers to press the dough down into an even strip, about 14-15 inches long, 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 3/4 inches thick. Transfer to a cookie sheet or pan and place in the freezer for 2 hours (or longer).

Baking

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper.

Unwrap the dough (it will be sticky) and transfer it to the baking sheets. Maida recommends placing them diagonally on the sheets. I'm am not sure what the reasoning is behind this but I did it anyway!

Bake for 1 hour, reversing the sheets front to bar and top to bottom to ensure even baking. During baking, the strips will spread out about 7 or 8 inches.

After 1 hour, remove the sheets from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 275. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the strips to a board. Use a serrated bread knife to cut the strips crosswise into slices 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.

Now place the cut slices on unlined cookie sheets, standing upright. Bake for an additional 40 minutes, again reversing the sheets front and back, top and bottom about halfway through.

Cool and store in an airtight container.