Chocolate Chip & Almond Biscotti
Submitted by oldhippie
Chocolate chip and almond biscotti are twice-baked Italian cookies built for dunking. Toasted almonds, semi-sweet chips, and a splash of whiskey give these crisp logs serious depth.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
80 minREADY
100 minReal Italian biscotti aren’t soft. They’re rigid, dry, and engineered for one purpose: dunking into espresso, vin santo, or strong coffee until just the edge softens.
This version stacks toasted almonds with semi-sweet chocolate chips and a small pour of whiskey or brandy in the egg wash. The booze cooks off but leaves a warm caramel note behind that plain biscotti miss.
The technique is the whole game. You shape damp dough into logs, bake them once at higher heat to set the structure, then slice and bake again low and slow until they go bone-dry. That second bake is what gives biscotti their signature snap and shelf life. Skip it or shortchange it and you end up with crumbly cookies instead.
Pro Tips
- Wet your hands with cold water when shaping, the dough is sticky and fights dry hands.
- Cool the logs a full 20 minutes before slicing, otherwise they crumble under the knife.
- Use a serrated bread knife and a slow sawing motion for clean diagonal slices that show off the chips and almonds.
- Let the slices cool inside the oven with the door cracked open, this finishes drying them without scorching.
- Stored airtight, these keep for two weeks and ship beautifully.
Variations
- Swap whiskey for amaretto and add an extra teaspoon of almond extract for an intensified almond profile.
- Use white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a holiday version.
- Dip one cut end in melted dark chocolate after the second bake for a gift-worthy finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Adjust 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Use cookie sheets with 2 or 3 flat edges otherwise use cookie sheets upside down.
Line sheets with parchment.
Sift together into large bowl the flour, soda, powder, and salt.
Add the sugar and stir to mix.
Place about ½ cup of dry ingredients in the bowl of food processor.
Add about ½ cup of toasted almonds and process for about 30 seconds, until the nuts are fine and powdery.
Add the processed mixture to the sifted ingredients in the large bowl.
Add the remaining toasted almonds and the chocolate morsels; stir to mix.
In a small bowl beat the eggs with the vanilla and whiskey, just to mix.
Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and handstir until dry ingredients are moistened.
Be patient.
Place a length of parchment or wax paper on the counter next to the sink.
Turn the dough out onto the parchment. Wet your hands with cold water and pres the dough into a round mound.
With a long heavy knife cut the dough into equal quarters.
Continue to wet your hands as you form each piece of dough into a strip 9 inch long, 2 to 2½ inch wide, and about ½ inch high.
You will press, not roll, the dough into shape.
The ends of the str ips should be rounded rather than squared.
Place 2 strips crosswise on each of the lined sheets.
Bake for 25 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking.
Remove sheets from oven and slide parchment off sheets.
With a wide metal spatula, transfer the baked strips to a large cutting board and let them cool for 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temp to 275?F. With a serrated bread knife, carefullky cut on a sharp angle into slices about ½ inch wide.
Cut slowly with a sawing motion.
Place the slices, cut side down on the two unlined sheets.
Bake the two sheets, turning slices upside down and reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking.
Bake for a total of 25 to 30 minutes.
Turn oven off, open oven door and let biscotti cool in the oven.
When cool, store in an airtight container.
Comments
