Home-made biscotti (though not home-made by me, but by my friend Olivier, who is a great baker).
Did you know, biscottimeans twice-baked in Latin? These biscuits were traditionally baked in this manner in order to ensure they were dry enough to be preserved longer.
Though am not normally a fan dry/crispy biscuits, freshly baked biscotti are a real treat.
Recipe:
A basic recipe has 2 cups flour to 3/4 cup sugar to which is added 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbs lemon rind. Then add in 125g butter cut into little pieces and mix together till a coarse meal is formed. Now add 1 cup coarsely ground roasted hazelnuts, as well as 3 eggs (first beaten together with 1 tsp almond extract) and mix till a dough is formed.
The biscotti are first baked in long slabs (at 150 degrees celsius for 35 minutes) , and then cut into 1/2 inch slices (once cooled), and then baked again until they are toasted and dry (10 minutes on each side).
Note: If you find the dough too dry to form the slab you can moisten it with a couple tbs milk.
