Vanilla Almond Biscotti

Last Saturday night, on impulse, I baked a batch of biscotti using Donna Hay's recipe from Modern Classics II, to give away to my friends whom I would be meeting the following day. It was my first late night baking session as it was already past 10 o'clock at night when I started working on these Italian cookies.

I was first introduced to biscotti when I visited the US several years ago. They tasted so good dipping into a hot cup of coffee! Ever since then, whenever I have the chance to visit my sister in the States, I would bring back a huge tub of chocolate-coated almond biscotti from Costco. There was once I even brought home a big cookie jar that was given free with the biscotti! The beautiful cookie jar is still sitting on my kitchen counter :)


This is my second attempt at baking biscotti. From that first attempt, and also after reading a few bloggers' baking experiences with these cookies, I got a better idea how to handle the dough this time round. I didn't make a mess even though the dough was equally wet and sticky as the one I tried on my previous attempt. In fact both recipes are quite similar, there is also no butter used in this one. (I learned that those recipes that have got butter added would yield a more manageable dough.) I didn't follow the instructions as stated in the recipe to knead the dough on a floured surface. I knew it would be a total waste of time to try to wrestle with a giant sticky, gooey mess, which looks more like a muffin batter than a cookie dough!

If you are keen to try baking your first batch of biscotti, do hop over to Cooking For Engineers to get a better idea. It is such a fantastic website, very informative and the recipes are all completed with many step-by-step illustrations.



After I got all the biscotti baked, it was already past mid-night. I only managed to coat them with melted chocolate the next morning. It was a tricky thing to work with chocolate in our weather. The chocolate set quite fast after I left them in the fridge for a short while. However, when I was trying to pack them into cookie bags, the chocolate started to melt away quickly :(


In the end, I had to wrap each biscotto with a strip of parchment paper to prevent the chocolate from smudging all over the place.

Judging from the very basic ingredients used in these biscotti, I must say they tasted quite bland if eaten plain. The taste only got better after they were dunk into a cup of coffee :) My better half likes these very much though. He would pinch one slice every time he pass by the kitchen.


Ingredients:
(makes 30~40)

2 cups (250g) plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
3/4 cup whole almonds
3 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degC (325 degF).
2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and almonds in a bowl and mix together.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla. With a spatula, mix and fold to form a soft sticky dough. The mixture will be very sticky and wet, and resembles a batter rather than a dough.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using the spatula, scoop half the amount of the dough and place it on onside of the baking sheet. Spread and shape with spatula to form a log about 10 by 3 inches in size. Spread and shape the other half of the dough into another log, space the two logs well apart.
5. Bake for 35mins and remove from the oven. Allow to cool completely.
6. With a sharp serrated knife, slice the logs into 1/2inch (1cm) thick slices.
7. Place the slices on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10~15mins or until the biscotti are crisp.
8. Let cool and store in air-tight container.
9. Optional: melt 100g of baking chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Dip each biscotto into the melted chocolate and leave on a lined tray to set.