These are awesome!!! It seems that on all of our trips to Europe, we have always managed to find some ridiculously expensive but extremely delicious biscotti. What a thrill to create that European delight right in my own kitchen with my two year old! These were absolutely delicious and well loved in my family. They tasted just like the ones we had in Rome. They aren’t very hard to make, but unlike regular cookies, they do have a few more steps. For the end result, the few extra steps are definitely worth it! I can’t wait to make different additions and combinations for future biscotti recipes! So stay tuned…
This recipe has been adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.
Makes: About 3 dozen cookies
Time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarse
Directions
- Adjust and oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then both extracts, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beater as needed.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds, and then mix in the almonds.
- Split the dough in half and use floured hands to quickly stretch and pat each portion of the dough into a 2 by 13-inch loaf, spaced about 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat each loaf smooth. Bake until the loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 20 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. * The recipe says to bake for 35 minutes, but mine were done after about 20. So just keep checking on them.
- Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Transfer the loaves to a cutting board using a wide metal spatula. Slice each loaf on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices (or slightly thicker if you want them a bit thicker) using a serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake until the slices are crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes, flipping the slices over halfway through. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving, about 30 minutes.