Christmas: Making Biscotti
Source of Recipe
Grandpoohbah
Recipe Introduction
12 Days of Christmas Baking Tips/2002 . . . Day 9: Making Biscotti
Recipe Link: messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-fdcooking&msg=3935.1
Beautiful Biscotti:
Biscotti are traditional Italian treats, but in recent years, these crunchy, dunkable cookies have gained international fame as the coffee craze has swept the world.
Because biscotti are mostly sold in coffee houses and gourmet gift shops, they seem a little exotic -- and that's part of their appeal -- but they're just as easy to make at home as any other cookie. Biscotti were born for good old-fashioned dunking: their crunchy texture and wand-like shape are just waiting to be submerged in the flavorful depths of a cup of coffee, mug of tea, or a goblet of dessert wine.
Biscotti Basics:
The word biscotti literally means "twice baked," and that's exactly how these cookies are made. Once you mix the dough, you form it into flat loaves and bake it just until it rises and sets up, then you slice it into individual cookies and bake them again until they are as crunchy as you like.
Some of the most time-honored flavorings you'll find in biscotti are anise, orange, almond, chocolate and hazelnut (not necessarily all at once) but, as biscotti gain worldwide popularity, creative cooks have begun to experiment with non-traditional flavors like dried cranberry and pistachio, lemon and poppy seed, and ginger and macadamia nut, to name just a few.
Before Baking:
To make the biscotti-baking process as painless as possible, line your baking sheets with parchment paper first. Not only will the parchment's non-stick qualities make baking easier, but it will also allow you to lift the whole biscotti loaves neatly from the pan to the cutting board after the first baking, without breaking them. There is no exact science to forming biscotti loaves. You can make them wide and thick or narrow and thin; it all depends what size you want your finished cookies to be - from dainty little tea cookies to jumbo breakfast-size coffee companions. The dough tends to be a bit sticky; you may find it easier to work with if you wet your hands before forming the loaves.
Slicing Made Simple:
After the first baking, the biscotti loaves should be firm and very lightly browned, but not hard. Let them cool just long enough that you can touch them without burning yourself, then transfer them to a cutting board.
The kind of knife you use will determine whether you end up with beautiful biscotti or just a pile of crumbs! The very best thing to use is a long, sharp serrated knife. This kind of knife will allow you to slice neatly through the loaves without putting any pressure on them. If the biscotti are plain, without any nuts or dried fruit or chocolate chips, you can get away with slicing them with a very sharp straightedge knife, but if the recipe has chunks of any kind, you will need a serrated blade to slice through the chunks without tearing the loaf apart. The way you slice the biscotti depends on the size you want in your finished cookies: slice them on the diagonal for longer biscotti, or straight across for shorter ones.
The Crunch:
The point of the second baking is to dry out the biscotti without browning them too much, so the key is low and slow - that is, low oven temperature and a slow baking time. Some people prefer biscotti that are slightly soft and moist, while others prefer the more traditional style of firm, crunchy biscotti that hold up well to a long soak in the beverage of their choice. For softer cookies, bake them for less time, and for crunchy ones, bake them for as long as it takes to dry them out all the way.
Beautify Your Biscotti:
Once the biscotti have cooled, you can decorate them if you wish. Drizzle them with one or several kinds of melted chocolate, or dunk them in chocolate then roll them in chopped nuts.
Well-dried biscotti keep extremely well. You can store them in a tightly closed container at room temperature for months at a time - though they're not likely to last that long once the members of your household get a taste of them!
A jar of biscotti makes an excellent gift. Give it all by itself, tied with a nice ribbon, turn it into a gift basket by adding a bag of good coffee beans, a bottle of dessert wine, or a selection of teas.
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