Italian biscotti aren\u2019t the same as the thick, gooey, chewy, caramel- and candy bar\u2013filled cookies we love so much in America. Since Italian biscotti don\u2019t have oil or butter in them like many American versions, they are much healthier and, be warned, much harder. The magic comes when you dunk your biscotti into your coffee and it comes back to life, all soft and chewy and full of flavor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Italian Biscotti<\/strong> Biscotti means \u201ctwice cooked\u201d in Italian. Biscotti dough is baked once, cut into long strips, and baked again, so it\u2019s crispy and almost dry. Here’s the basis for a “plain” biscotti, with easy cinnamon, almond, and chocolate variations.<\/p>\n 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.<\/p>\n 2. Whip the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. In another bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir into the egg mixture to make a stiff, sticky dough. Stir in the almonds.<\/p>\n 3. Sprinkle the confectioners\u2019 sugar over the work surface. Transfer the dough to the work surface, and knead gently until the dough is cohesive and loses its stickiness. Shape into a thick 8-inch log and transfer to the baking sheet. Shape the dough on the sheet into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.<\/p>\n 4. Bake until the dough is lightly browned and cracked, and feels set when pressed on the top, about 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n 5. Reduce the oven temperature to 325\u00b0F. Carefully transfer the log to a chopping board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1\/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices, flat sides down, on the baking sheet. (You may need 2 baking sheets. If so, place a second oven rack in the top third of the oven.) Bake until the surfaces begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti over, and bake for another 10 minutes. The biscotti will become crisper when cooled. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.<\/p>\n For Cinnamon Hazelnut Biscotti:<\/em><\/strong> For Almond-Orange Biscotti:<\/em><\/strong> For Double Chocolate Biscotti:<\/em><\/strong> With no oil or butter, traditional Italian biscotti are much healthier than those candy-covered sticks you get in Starbucks. Here are my favorite 3 versions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1260"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2984,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions\/2984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMakes about 2 1\/2 dozen cookies<\/em><\/p>\n
\n1 cup granulated sugar
\n1 teaspoon vanilla extract
\n1\/4 teaspoon almond extract
\n2 3\/4 cups all-purpose flour
\n3\/4 teaspoon baking powder
\n1\/8 teaspoon salt
\n1\/2 cup (2 ounces) sliced natural almonds
\n1\/4 cup confectioners\u2019 sugar, for kneading<\/p>\n
\nSubstitute 3\/4 cup toasted, peeled, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts for the almonds. Omit the almond extract and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dough.<\/p>\n
\nAdd the grated zest of 1 orange and 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice to the dough.<\/p>\n
\nReduce the flour to 2 1\/2 cups. Add 1\/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour mixture. Stir 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips into the dough.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n <\/td>\n ![\"SkinnyItal-cover\"](\"http:\/\/heather-maclean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/SkinnyItal-cover.jpg\")
<\/td>\n– From Skinny Italian<\/a><\/em>
\nby Teresa Giudice with Heather Maclean<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"