TWD: Chocolate Biscotti

I feel like I won the lottery this week! and I kind of did. Believe it or not, after three years of baking, chopping, caramelizing, and mixing, all of the Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) bakers have had a turn picking the weekly recipe and we're (kind of) starting over. Instead of going back to the beginning of the list, however, Laurie, founder of TWD, has opted for a "pick a name out of the hat" approach and so I get to pick this week. YEAH!!

I have to take a moment to applaud Dorie for a really fabulous baking book. After making 150 or so of the recipes from this book, I feel qualified to say that this is one of the best baking books EVER. The recipes are consistently good, the directions clear and precise, and there's so much variety. Bravo to Dorie!

There were still plenty of tempting recipes to choose from and I went with the Chocolate Biscotti.

Dorie's directions first call for mixing the ingredients and rolling halves of the dough into 12" logs, then flattening them out. I opted for a lazier approach and dropped hunks of the batter into loose rows.

I dipped my fingers in some cocoa powder and nudged, prodded, and coaxed the cookie dough into flattish logs. Then I sprinkled on some sugar, as directed.


Next came the first round of baking, about 25 minutes.


The baked logs were allowed to cool slightly and then sliced.


Next, the slices are placed cut-side-up back on the baking sheet and then into the oven they go for their second round of baking. Here's my secret, though, I only bake about half of them the second time. I leave some on the racks to cool because I think they're just perfect at this point.


Then all that's left to to kick back and enjoy! These biscotti were perfectly chocolate and just plain delish. If you noticed, I left half of them plain and half of them had chopped pistachios and dried cherries added. Either way, they were awesome!

Chocolate Biscotti

Reproduced with permission from "Baking, From my home to yours", by Dorie Greenspan.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped almonds, blanched or unblanched
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
sugar, for dusting

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don't worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead in any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into 12 inch long logs. Flatten both logs with the palm of your hand so that they are 1/2 to 1 inch high, about 2 inches across and sort of rectangular, then carefully lift the logs onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack - and that's just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack and cool the logs for about 20 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)

Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet - you'll have an army of biscotti - and bake the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.

Pistachio with Golden Raisin Biscotti

I've mentioned before that I'm a newcomer to the biscotti scene. But I've fallen hard and fast for these Italian cookies.

I recently tried this recipe from the book "Biscotti" by Lou Seibert Pappas. Mmm, boy, were they good!

Biscotti are a perfect cookie for add-ins. For this recipe, I substituted dried cranberries for the golden raisins called for in the recipe (had one, but not the other). To me, the lovely green pistachios practically beg to be paired with ruby red cranberries.

They're so easy to form, it almost feels like cheating. I make a haphazard "log" by first globbing the dough in a somewhat loggish fashion onto the cookie sheet.

Then, kinda sorta smooth it into a solid mass.

Magically, they bake into their trade-mark shape.

All that's left is to slice them into nice chunky cookies and pop them back in the oven to crisp.

I decided to dress them up by drizzling some white chocolate over top.

Although they kind of remind me of poor Gulliver, who had the misfortune of being tied up by those pesky Lilliputians.


(Looks like the cookies agree.)

Pistachio and Golden Raisin Biscotti
Reprinted with permission from "Biscotti" by Lou Seifert Pappas (you can read more about Lou HERE.)
(my comments in italics)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups shelled whole pistachio nuts
1 1/4 cups golden raisins (I used dried cranberries)
3 to 4 oz. white chocolate, optional

In a mixing bowl cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon zest. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt and add to the creamed mixture, mixing just until crumbly. (It did not come together into a ball at this point. Don't worry if it's dry and crumbly.) In a separate bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form and beat in remaining sugar, beating until stiff but not dry.

Fold meringue into the crumbly dough, mixing until it clings together. Fold in nuts and raisins. Divide dough in half. Form into two logs on a greased and floured baking sheet, making them about 1/2 inch thick, 1 1/2 inches wide and 16 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. (Mine were approx. 3 inches wide and 12 inches long. What you see in my pictures is half of a batch, which makes one log.)

Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until set and golden brown. Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool 5 minutes. Place on a cutting board. With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle to 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices upright on a baking sheet and return to the oven at 300 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes to dry slightly. Let cool on a rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

Chocolate Glaze variation: Place the chocolate in a small bowl that fits snugly over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Heat until chocolate melts. Stir to blend. Or place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium about 2 minutes, or until melted. Stir to blend. Spread chocolate with a spatula over entire top surface of cookies. (I drizzled it using a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.) Let cool at room temperature until set.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Operation Baking Gals, Round 4

I know, it's Tuesday and I'm supposed to be posting my Tuesday's with Dorie recipe today. However, Laurie, our fearless TWD leader, has given us the option of posting late this week, since this week's recipe is a Thanksgiving pie. So, I'm posting my Operation Baking Gals November contribution today instead.

It was a very patriotic and emotional month. It started with Election Day and all of the drama and anxiety that brings. Then, Veteran's Day, where I got to see my oldest son "post the colors" (i.e. bring in the flags) with the other Cub Scouts during the elementary school Veteran's Day program. (The Veteran's Day program was very touching and well done and once again proved how easily I cry now that I've had children.) Then, I received a letter of thanks from last month's Operation Baking Gals soldier, David. Coincidentally, I received his letter within days of mailing off November's care package to another soldier, Joshua.

Captain David Spirz, stationed in Iraq, wrote such a nice letter. He said my package was the first he recieved, and that he got 11 more boxes of cookies in about 10 days! He sent several pictures of himself and the goodies as well. I really enjoyed reading his letter and sharing the pictures with my two boys. I hope it helped them understand that there are many, many faces behind the word "soldier". David also mentioned that the temperature had finally cooled down to 85-90 degrees... from a consistent 115-120 degrees! Yikes!

I made three different recipes to send to this month's soldier, Joshua.

First, were White Chip Caramel Bars, a brown sugar-based bar cookie studded with white chocolate chips and nuts. The recipe can be found ---> HERE. These bars are delish and will appeal to those with a major sweet tooth. They are supposed to be drizzled with melted white chocolate, but I knew that wouldn't work with the high temperatures in the Middle East, so I left it off.


Second, was half of the Lenox Almond Biscotti I had frozen as an unbaked log several Tuesday's with Dorie ago. I mixed mini chocolate chips into this half, but I didn't like them as well as the original version.


Finally, the Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies I made for Cookie Carnival.


I hope these treats brightened the lives of the soldiers, even if just for a little while. They'll never know how much I appreciate the sacrifice they've made for this country and countries around the world. Thank you!!

Thanks to Susan at She's Becoming DoughMessTic for starting Operation Baking Gals, and also thank you to Bridget at The Way the Cookie Crumbles for hosting our soldier this month.

TWD: Lenox Almond Biscotti

I’ve never quite figured out if my husband reads my blog or not. He probably doesn’t because it would only be another reminder of what a dork he married. No guy wants to admit he married a dork!

But I might find out this week since I'm going to talk about a guy I dated many moons ago, lol.

It was an odd situation with this guy, because I knew I was transferring jobs to another state before we went on our first date. We both knew it wasn’t going anywhere. It was one of those “lets hang out for a while before I leave and never see you again” kind of things.



He was the only guy I dated that I would call “fancy”. We actually dressed up to go out on dates! One time we went to Chez Panisse, the famous Berkeley restaurant, and then the old classic movie, “The Red Shoe”. It was fun, but it reminded me of those rare occasions when I was little and I got to play with my mom's makeup. It wasn't really me. It was a "painted on" version of me.

He drove an old Triumph convertible and (I’m getting to the biscotti part now) one time we took his car to an antique car gathering. You know… the kind where everybody parks their car and puts the hood up so you can walk around and admire the shiny, chrome-filled engines and custom upholstery, etc. etc.

He brought a picnic lunch along that had all manner of yummy salads and bread from a corner deli, and for dessert, biscotti. I’m not sure I had even heard of biscotti before.


I remember not being very fond of the biscotti, it was simply too hard and dry. It’s a shame really, because that first impression caused me to miss out on this wonderful Italian cookie all these years.

Homemade biscotti are heavenly. I’ve made two different recipes now and its been fantastic both times. Nothing like that store-bought imposter.

When I think of biscotti, I think of that lovely California summer day spent with someone I knew wasn't right for me. It also makes me thankful I found my football-loving, jeans and T-shirt wearing, not-fancy husband. We’re like two peas in a pod.

Thanks so much to Gretchen of Canela & Comino for choosing the Lenox Almond Biscotti for this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe. It was fantastic, I love, love, loved it.


Recipe notes: I baked half of the biscotti as directed. The other half, I only baked once (in my pictures, the biscotti on the left is twice-baked and that on the right is once-baked). I like the softer, once-baked biscotti just a tad more. Also, I used half slivered almonds and half whole almonds (half whole almonds? that sounds funny, LOL). I think I would go with all slivered almonds next time. This biscotti is tender and it wanted to crumble when I was cutting through the whole almonds.

Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Ewwww, biscotti… hard, dry, tasteless, break-your-teeth biscotti. I’ve only had it one time before and that about sums up my impression of it.

As I embarked on this month’s Cookie Carnival recipe, Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti, I was prepared to pitch the freshly baked cookies in the trash and declare smugly “I knew it!”.


But, as usual, I didn’t know. (If anything, this baking blog has been a humbling experience.)

In case you don’t know, biscotti are a twice-baked cookie. First they are baked as a log, then the log is sliced into pieces and the pieces returned to the oven for round two. I, not wanting the experience to be a total bust, held some of the pieces back and didn’t bake them a second time.

Here's the log of cookie dough ready for the oven. I rolled the dough in saran wrap to help form the log and then refrigerated for about 30 minutes to firm it up a bit first.



Here's the baked log being sliced into pieces. It spread more than I thought it would.


To my complete and utter surprise, I actually liked this biscotti. Even the twice-baked version. And the once-baked biscotti? They were awesome! I loved them so much I wanted to marry them.


The only thing I changed in the recipe was the whole hazelnuts that get mixed in at the end. I still haven't recovered from the hazelnut-skinning fiasco from last month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge, so I used roughly chopped macadamia nuts instead. I really liked the crunch they added. I will definitely sub macadamias again.

Oh, yes, I WILL be making these again. Fo sho!


Many thanks to Kate at The Clean Plate Club for hosting Cookie Carnival. I can’t wait to see what September brings.

Here's the recipe... give it a try!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, husked
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in processor. Set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in 1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece on baking sheet into 2 1/2-inch-wide by 14-inch-long log. Place logs on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs feel firm when tops are gently pressed, about 35 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Using long wide spatula, transfer baked logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. (Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)