More Cookies

Today I was given some really delicious biscotti from a friend, and thought that biscotti make a great gift from your kitchen.  You can dress up the gift by putting the biscotti into a coffee mug, and adding chocolate spoons for stirring, and a 1/2 pound of Italian Roast Coffee.
These biscotti are addictive, with their bittersweet chocolate notes, off set by salted almonds and milk chocolate chunks.  I usually make several batches, and they freeze beautifully if you want to get a head start on your holiday baking. 

Chocolate Almond Biscotti



Makes 40


2 Cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, salted, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1 cup chopped dry roasted salted almonds
1 cup milk chocolate chips




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the baking sheet with parchment or silicone pan liner.

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

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Scrape down bowl; add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and beat till light and fluffy again, approximately 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl.
Add flour mixture slowly, mixing till combined.
Add chopped nuts and chocolate chips. Mix till just combined.
Divide dough in half and roll each piece into a 12-inch cylinder. Pat down cylinder to 1 inch thick and 2 inches wide.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool at least 15 minutes. You can let them cool for hours at this point if you run out of time and continue later, or you can freeze the cooled logs for a later date.
With a long serrated knife, cut each log into ¾ slices. Stand slices onto prepared baking pan, 1 inch apart. Cookies can lie down flat onto the baking sheet, but I feel you get a nicer bake upright.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes more. Cookies should not be soft.
Remove to wire racks to cool completely, store in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or freeze for up to two months. 
Adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Recipe of the Month

I'll be teaching tonight at KitchenArt in West Lafayette, IN, and then heading to Bloomington tonight and on to the East Coast tomorrow.  The temperature here this morning was 29 degrees, so I'm off to find some woolie things to wear, wish me luck!  Enjoy your day, I'll be back tomorrow with more.