Almond Biscotti (kind of)So basically I have never in my life eaten a biscotti. But I have longingly stared at them, curious as to what they tasted like. Sure people can describe it to you, but nothing's like that first surprising taste of it when you're like "Oh, yeah that is was they were talking about". Or at least that's how it was for me. So I found this recipe some where... I kind of forget what site... whoops. But after putting it off for awhile I got to it.
So the reason that they're "kind of" almond biscotti is because of two things:
1. We didn't have almond extract in the house.
2. We didn't have almonds in the house.
Wow. Those are pretty much the only things that would constitute these as "almond" biscotti. Well I managed to find a minuscule amount of almond slivers back in our cabinet which helped. Not much though. But I would not be stopped so easily. By using twice the amount of vanilla extract (as I was told by yahoo search engine that this would suffice) and what small amount of almond slivers I had, I was able to make some darn good biscotti!
Okay so since I don't remember where I got this recipe from, I'm just going to hand type the recipe from the white printed out sheet I had it on.
1 stick of butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or in my case 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
A generous pinch of salt (whatever that means...)
3/4 c. sliced almonds (or in my case whatever form of almonds of whatever amount that you can find in your house)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl (they say use a stand mixer, but who can really afford those), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the almond extract. Or whatever you got.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in the sliced almonds. Again, or whatever you got.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into thirds. Roll into logs about 2-inches in diameter. Place the logs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the logs and allow them to cool slightly.
While the logs are still warm, slice them diagonally about 1/2 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to avoid crumbling. *I cut a few with a serrated blade and quickly became frustrated at the crumbling. Then I switched to my Rachel Ray approved super blade and had much more success.* Arrange the slices on two baking sheets and bake for approximately 7 minutes, until they appear barely toasted. Turn the biscotti over and allow them to toast for another 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a rack!
Makes about 30 biscotti. They will keep for several weeks in the freezer.
Also i don't know if it's just my weird oven or not, but mine kept a fairly light color. Though I've seen other recipes where the biscotti turn pretty browned, I quite prefer them not so done. That's just me though=)
As an added touch I found some white chocolate chips in the cupboard and decided to melt them down. Then, I just spread the goop over about half the biscotti so as to not make it so overwhelming a flavor and detract from the biscotti goodness itself.
*added note: If you decide to add some kind of chocolate or other goopy topping and are also making biscotti on a sweltering hot day in your kitchen without air conditioning, do not leave them in a pile on your counter. They will surely melt onto one another. Promptly place them in your freezer until you're ready for more.
So to finish my first post I would like to reveal something. I had to type this entire post with only the use of 9 of my 10 fingers. Yes, the other day during a baking experiment I was slicing carrots and well, slipped with my knife. It was quite painful. My left hand middle finger is still healing and, but besides having to wear a large band aid, it is okay. The carrot cake cookies I made turned out pretty good as well. Although I think they would have been much better had they been deemed as muffins instead. With a spongy, moist texture throughout the whole "cookie", I think it would have been a wiser choice to have made them as muffins.
Okay. I am now officially ending my first post. Yay!
So the reason that they're "kind of" almond biscotti is because of two things:
1. We didn't have almond extract in the house.
2. We didn't have almonds in the house.
Wow. Those are pretty much the only things that would constitute these as "almond" biscotti. Well I managed to find a minuscule amount of almond slivers back in our cabinet which helped. Not much though. But I would not be stopped so easily. By using twice the amount of vanilla extract (as I was told by yahoo search engine that this would suffice) and what small amount of almond slivers I had, I was able to make some darn good biscotti!
Okay so since I don't remember where I got this recipe from, I'm just going to hand type the recipe from the white printed out sheet I had it on.
1 stick of butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or in my case 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
A generous pinch of salt (whatever that means...)
3/4 c. sliced almonds (or in my case whatever form of almonds of whatever amount that you can find in your house)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl (they say use a stand mixer, but who can really afford those), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the almond extract. Or whatever you got.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in the sliced almonds. Again, or whatever you got.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into thirds. Roll into logs about 2-inches in diameter. Place the logs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the logs and allow them to cool slightly.
While the logs are still warm, slice them diagonally about 1/2 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to avoid crumbling. *I cut a few with a serrated blade and quickly became frustrated at the crumbling. Then I switched to my Rachel Ray approved super blade and had much more success.* Arrange the slices on two baking sheets and bake for approximately 7 minutes, until they appear barely toasted. Turn the biscotti over and allow them to toast for another 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a rack!
Makes about 30 biscotti. They will keep for several weeks in the freezer.
Also i don't know if it's just my weird oven or not, but mine kept a fairly light color. Though I've seen other recipes where the biscotti turn pretty browned, I quite prefer them not so done. That's just me though=)
As an added touch I found some white chocolate chips in the cupboard and decided to melt them down. Then, I just spread the goop over about half the biscotti so as to not make it so overwhelming a flavor and detract from the biscotti goodness itself.
*added note: If you decide to add some kind of chocolate or other goopy topping and are also making biscotti on a sweltering hot day in your kitchen without air conditioning, do not leave them in a pile on your counter. They will surely melt onto one another. Promptly place them in your freezer until you're ready for more.
So to finish my first post I would like to reveal something. I had to type this entire post with only the use of 9 of my 10 fingers. Yes, the other day during a baking experiment I was slicing carrots and well, slipped with my knife. It was quite painful. My left hand middle finger is still healing and, but besides having to wear a large band aid, it is okay. The carrot cake cookies I made turned out pretty good as well. Although I think they would have been much better had they been deemed as muffins instead. With a spongy, moist texture throughout the whole "cookie", I think it would have been a wiser choice to have made them as muffins.
Okay. I am now officially ending my first post. Yay!
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