Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Almond Biscotti

I'm always on the lookout for biscuit (or cookies) recipes so the latest cookbook acquisition wasn't really a surprise - "500 Cookies" by Philippa Vanstone. I thought I'd start off by making her recipe for Almond Biscotti - it's a favourite around here especially with coffee!

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Almond Biscotti

300g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g whole blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F.

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl.

Whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract, then stir into the dry ingredients. Add the almonds, then turn out onto a lightly floured bench.

The dough should be soft but able to be moulded into shape. I found the mix to be too sticky so I had to add a fair bit of flour until it achieved the appropriate consistency. As all flours are different, this is just something you need to keep an eye on when baking.

Divide the dough into two and shape each into flat logs about 25cm (10 inches) by 5cm (2 inches) in size. Place on baking paper and onto oven trays. These will spread out so leave plenty of space or put them on two trays.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until they are lightly browned.

Remove and let cool slightly.

Using a serrated knife slice evenly - I prefer them on the thinner side but you can cut them to 1cm/quarter inch thick.

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Place the slices back on the trays (cut side down) and return to the oven - cook for 10 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 10. You are looking for the slices to dry out but barely colour - if you press a finger into the cut surface there should be resistance.

When done, place them on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container - these should keep for a few weeks (if you can stop yourself eating them.)

These are perfect with coffee.

Notes: They probably need a few more almonds - next time I'd add another 50g. The wetness of the dough was a bit concerning but I'll pin that on the flour. Taste wise they can't be faulted. Wonderfully crisp and they hold together if you dunk them. I'm looking forward to trying out some more recipes from this book.

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11 comments

  1. AnonymousMay 10, 2006

    Beautiful, Haalo!

    If you like biscotti recipes you should try the book called "Biscotti" by Lou Seibert Pappas.

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  2. Thanks Ivonne - I'll keep an eye out for that one!

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  3. AnonymousMay 10, 2006

    I can almost taste them from here! I don't think those would last more than a few days! Just needs an expresso and somewhere quiet to enjoy them!

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  4. AnonymousMay 18, 2006

    In case you're still in need of more biscotti recipes, my favorite is Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti. I find the best way to eat it is to freeze it and have a nice, cool center inside after you dunk it in your coffee!

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  5. Daave - they didn't much longer than a few days here either - they are the perfect excuse to have another coffee.

    Thanks Ken for the recipe - have never heard about freezing them, sounds interesting.

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  6. very good recipe .
    i did it with nuts and pistachio.it was very good .
    Now i try it with cocoa and cashew nuts.
    Thanks from Paris ,France

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  7. Haalo,
    thank you for the recipe.
    I added some cried berries and orange zest to the mix.
    Utterly delish!
    li

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  8. Amazing !
    Congratulations!
    Cat

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  9. Amazing !
    And so delicious !

    ReplyDelete

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