|
Clare Cosi’s Basic Biscotti
From Latte Trouble
Cleo Coyle
Italians use the term biscotti to refer to any type of cookie. In today’s coffeehouse culture, biscotti is used to describe a long, dry, hard twice-baked cookie designed for dunking into wine or coffee. The name biscotti is derived from bis meaning "encore" in Italian and cotto meaning "baked" or "cooked."
There are many basic biscotti recipes. Some use oil instead of butter, some use no butter at all. This particular recipe produces a more tender biscotti, which is generally preferred by the American palate. To create a harder biscotti out of this recipe, reduce the butter by 1/2 cup and increase the flour by 1/2 cup.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 c butter (3 sticks)
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Yield: 2 dozen
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. With an electric mixer, cream butter, add eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until soft dough forms. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead slightly, then divide dough into two even pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Place these 2 logs of dough onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper—the bottoms of the logs can flatten when you place them on the baking sheet. They don’t need to stay round. Make sure the 2 logs are well separated. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 35 minutes. Let the logs cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully slice them on a diagonal angle. (Because this recipe is for a slightly softer biscotti, the dough may be a bit crumbly. The best way to slice is with a very sharp knife, straight down. No sawing.) Each log should yield about 12 cookies sliced approx. 3/4 inches wide. Turn the cookies onto their sides, and place on a baking sheet. Put them back in the 350-degree oven for 8 minutes on one side, then turn over and bake another 8 minutes on the other side. Let cool. Store in an airtight container.
The above is a very basic biscotti recipe. Different variations can come from this recipe by adding such things as nuts, dried fruits, and various extracts. Have fun experimenting! Here are some possibilities:
Almond Biscotti: In above recipe, change 1 tablespoon of vanilla to 2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 teaspoons almond extract. Mix 1 cup chopped, toasted almonds to the dough. (To toast raw almonds, spread on baking sheet and place in 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes.)
Anise Biscotti: In above recipe, change 1 tablespoon of vanilla to 2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 teaspoons anise extract. (Optional) Mix in 1/2 cup of anise seeds to the dough.
Pistachio Biscotti: In above recipe add to the dry ingredients 1/2 cup of toasted pistachios that have been ground to a powder. After dough forms, add 1 cup of whole, toasted pistachios. (To toast raw pistachios, spread on baking sheet and place in 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes.)
More about Latte Trouble
Cleo Coyle
Coffee has never been so trendy—or so deadly.
When one of her baristas unwittingly serves a poisonous
latte to a prominent figure on the fashion scene, Clare
Cosi must uncover some jolting secrets to save her shop.
(A Coffeehouse Mystery)
Berkley (Prime Crime), August 2005
Featuring: Clare Cosi
256 pages ISBN: 0425204456
Paperback
$6.99
Also by Cleo Coyle:
 Through The Grinder, October 2004
On What Grounds, September 2003
(Notify me via e-mail when Cleo Coyle releases a new book.)
|
