During the holiday season, I feel especially lucky to be Italian-American for two reasons, and both involve food. Reason #1: The Italian Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, where you can expect to spend a minimum of five hours at the dinner table. Reason #2: These biscotti.
Biscotti — the twice-baked Italian cookies with an audible crunch — are a little different than your average Christmas cookie, but just as delicious. This recipe is a favorite of mine because it has you make one dough, split it in half, then add flavorings to create two distinct types of biscotti.
With a little effort, you’ve got two festive biscotti flavors that look great on a holiday cookie platter and are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot chocolate.
Basic Biscotti Dough
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl. It should resemble wet sand, but it’s OK if it’s a little clumpy.
Crack in 3 of the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix it in on low speed.
Add the rest of the flour and mix until a sticky dough forms.
Remove half of the dough and place it in another bowl.
Add in flavorings as directed in the recipes below.
Shape biscotti dough into a 14-by-2 inch log on a floured surface. Flatten slightly and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Beat the remaining egg and brush on top of dough logs.
Sprinkle with approximately 2 teaspoons sugar.
Bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway through.
Remove from oven and let biscotti cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Slice biscotti into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife.
Arrange biscotti on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Let cool.
Store biscotti in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
Instructions
Pour hot water over dried cranberries. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain excess water.
Add cranberries and pistachios to biscotti dough. Mix.
#SpoonTip: “Chop†pistachios by placing them in a Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin or other heavy object.
See basic biscotti dough step 10 for instructions on shaping and baking.
Microwave white chocolate for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 10 seconds and stir until smooth.
Spoon white chocolate into Ziploc bag. Snip a corner with scissors to create a makeshift pastry bag.
#SpoonTip: Place the bag in a tall cup to make adding the chocolate easier.
Squeeze bag to drizzle white chocolate on biscotti.
Almond Biscotti
Ingredients
Instructions
Add almonds, almond extract, amaretto liqueur (if using), and flour to biscotti dough. Mix.
See basic biscotti dough step 10 for instructions on shaping and baking.
Decorate with melted dark chocolate. See Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti recipe step 4 for details.