Sam Hewitt: Biscotti

I'm not anyone's Nonna but I can still make good biscotti, which is something I enjoy with a nice espresso.

If you don't know what biscotti is, it's a sweet, Italian twice-baked cookie/biscuit ("biscotti" literally means twice cooked, so does "biscuit" for that matter) typically made with a strong spice, like cinnamon or anise, and with a nut/seed, typically almonds, in it.

There are a bunch of variations of biscotti, with different flavour combinations –like chocolate– but I don't like things to be too sweet so I keep it simple with a few flavours.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup whole or coarsely chopped almonds –toasted*, if you like.
• 1 teaspoon ground anise
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest –about as much as you would get from zesting half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 3/4 cups flour –you can cut this with 1/4 cup almond flour, if you like or have some.

*to toast the almonds (or any nut) simply heat a dry pan to quite hot & toss the nuts in, now while shaking to prevent burning, cook until they are fragrant.

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder
2. Combine the sugar with the ground anise and lemon zest, then mash it into the butter –here, I deviate from tradition in the method.
3. Add the eggs and mix those in.
4. Add the egg-butter-sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and bring together into a smooth dough.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide in half.
8. Moisten your hands with water and form each half into a long thin log –approx. 8x32x4 centimeters.
9. Place each log apart from each other on a clean baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes or so.
11. Cut** each log into 2 cm slices and arrange them on the baking sheet with the cut side face down/up.
12. Return to the oven and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
13. Remove finished biscotti from the oven and let cool on a wire rack before eating.

**to get that angled cut like seen here, slice the biscotti log on a ~45 degree angle, what is typically called "slicing on a bias".