Behold the beautiful biscotti that will be gracing my gift tins to family and friends. Now I know that I just posted a biscotti recipe not too long ago, but I wanted to share this one as well because they have somewhat different properties. The previous biscotti recipe produced a soft and tender cookie, which was very good. This recipe, however, mimics what I have grown up to know and love about the biscotti – hard, crunchy, and it withstands multiple dips into a cup of coffee without falling apart. So both of these are good; if you want one that’s a little softer to enjoy eating with your tea I would suggest my previous entry. However, if you’re Italian or a dunker, you’ll want to use this recipe, as I feel it’s much more authentic. Also, the previous recipe made significantly smaller biscotti, whereas these are substantially larger and look like they came from a coffee shop. A little drizzle of chocolate and they were ready for my tins!
Basic Biscotti
(Adapted from The Feast Within)
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspooon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy, add the eggs one at a time along, and then add the extract. Scrape your bowl if needed to make sure everything is smoothly mixed and incorporated. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Add it gradually to the creamed mixture and mix just until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and rub your hands with a little flour. Divide the dough in two and form each half into a log about 4 inches wide by 10 inches long. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets until lightly browned and small cracks form on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly on the baking sheets. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Slice on the diagonal in generous 1/2 inch slices – this is easiest by using a straight down chopping motion with a good santuko or chef’s knife. Place them with the cut side up on parchment lined baking trays and bake another approximately 16-20 minutes or until slightly browned, turning over half way through the baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Tags: biscotti, Biscotti
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Your biscotti look perfect. Great job.
How many total slices does this recipe make? email me at ams9011@yahoo.com THANX
hmm……….. looks like it`s yummy!! hehehhe…
Hi Michelle,
Getting oodles of ideas from you for my Christmas baking! I haven’t made biscotti in years but since I’m Italian, perhaps I should make some again. I see there is already salt is in this recipe. Usually if it’s unsalted butter, it specifically states it. Did you use salted or unsalted for this recipe. When it just says “butter”, I usually just go with salted since that’s what I usually have on hand. Thanks!!
One more thing…also printed your Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti. Should I make these and just alter them or make that recipe? Trying to avoid my own trial and error….or should I call it “gaining weight while doing my own side by side taste testing!”
Ah, thanks for the catch on the butter Lisa! This is a recipe I wrote a looong time ago and wasn’t as good at it
Definitely use unsalted butter. I would go ahead with the recipe you printed out for the cranberry biscotti – that one takes into account some extra moisture from the cranberries. Happy Baking!
Thanks for this basic recipe. It looks great. I’m going to try a second batch substituting some cocoa powder for some of the flour to make chocolate biscotti.
This looks great! Do you think that I could add a cup of shelled, toasted hazelnuts to this? Also, how long is it’s shelf life?
Hi Francesca, Yes you could definitely add hazelnuts, yum! The biscotti can stay for a few weeks.
I just finished making these amazing creatures. So easy. I added choco chips to the dough and they were fabulous. Thank you!