User adrianesque posted this awesome biscotti recipe!
I always want to cook stuff for him, but can’t (for now) because of the miles between us. Baking is a great way to cheat! Biscotti travels well because it already is dry and hard, so it won’t go bad while in transit. Perfect with coffee, these baked goodies are sure to leave a lasting impression - he will warmly be reminded of you in the morning while he drinks his coffee and crunches down on the delicacy that you made just for him.
Last week I made some biscotti for my special man. Today, he received his little (or rather huge) surprise package and absolutely loved it. This recipe is impossible to mess up, very easy to do, and makes around 20 biscotti. Enjoy!
KEY
tsp = teaspoon
tbsp = tablespoon
NOTE In brackets, [ ], I put what you need if you instead want to make double chocolate biscotti instead of the original flavor biscotti.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar [white sugar]
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla [2-3 Tbsp cold coffee]
- [1/2 cup dry dark cocoa]
- [18 oz. chocolate chips]
- Parchment paper or Pam
- Electric mixer
- Wax paper and/or wire rack
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with Pam. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt (and dry dark cocoa if making the double chocolate flavor). Then, add in 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and mix (if making the double chocolate flavor).
- In another large bowl, use the electric mixer to beat the sugar and eggs until it is frothy. Mix in the vanilla (if making the original flavor). Mix in the cold coffee (if making the double chocolate flavor).
- Gradually add the dry ingredients (first bowl) to the wet ingredients (second bowl). You must use an electric mixer. The dough is very sticky and thick, by the way.
- Let dough rest for 5 minutes. USING MOIST HANDS, divide the dough evenly into 2 equal mounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. USING MOIST HANDS, space the dough evenly apart and form into 2 9” by 3” logs. Bake for 35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife cut the logs into 3/4” slices.
- Arrange the biscotti, CUT SIDE DOWN, onto the same baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Place the biscotti on a wire wrack or a piece of wax paper and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
- For the chocolate biscotti, with the remaining chocolate chips you melt them and use it as a sort of frosting. If you’re mailing them to him, do not top with the melted chocolate chips - it will melt in the mail and it will be a huge mess. But if you keep some of the biscotti for yourself, then top those with frosting to eat.
- To melt chocolate chips, you’ll need two pans. One has to be smaller and be able to fit into a larger pan but not touch the bottom. In the larger pan you boil some water, but make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the smaller pan. Put the chocolate chips in the smaller pan and wait for them to melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted, take your biscotti and dip them into the chocolate. Let the chocolate harden - it will take a while. I like the chocolate creamy so I won’t wait for it to settle, I just start eating whenever.
- When you’re packaging your biscotti, use air-tight containers and line them with wax paper to guarantee ultimate freshness, cleanness, and a safe ride to their destination. I also recommend using plastic containers to place the biscotti in. One of the containers I sent was this metal container that used to have Christmas cookies in it, and while on the way its top got a little banged up and had some dents in it.
- Throw in a handwritten letter and perhaps something else special, and don’t forget to seal it with a kiss. Happy baking! :)
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Good luck! We’d love to see how this turns out!
