By: Valerie
Cookies, Bars and Biscotti,

Two-Bite Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Yield: about 6 dozen biscotti
Recipe: 89/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 38

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    Chocolate. Almonds. Bite size. This recipe was a bit more complex than others but is very well explained, utilizes some of my favorite ingredients and generates a ton of biscotti. I just had to try it. I found that there was a little something something missing in the taste of these biscotti, but I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on it. Maybe it is the use of cocoa powder as opposed to other types of chocolate that changed the flavour profile of these compared to what I am used to. They have a nice bite and flavour to them nonetheless. Furthermore, keep in mind that this recipe was designed to make biscotti, so they are dry and harder than cookies, which is normal and to be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate!

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ₁⁄₈ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup sliced almonds

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Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Using a hand or stand mixer fitter with the whip attachment, whip the eggs and sugar on high speed until they hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes.
  3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Fold these dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
  4. Scrape the batter into a pipping bag fitted with a large plain round tip, and pipe three rows of batter, about 12 inches long and 1 ½ inches across, onto each tray. The batter will be the consistency of cake batter and so a bit liquidy for pipping. You will need to move fast! Leave about 2 inches between each row.
  5. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the sliced almonds on top of the biscotti batter on each tray.
  6. Bake for about 16 minutes, until the tops of the biscotti appear dry. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. In the meantime, lower the temperature of the oven to 325°F.
  7. Transfer each row of biscotti to a cutting board and slice on the diagonal into thin biscotti that are about ¾ inch wide. Return the biscotti to the baking tray and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Valerie