Biscotti

Everyone has their own way of saying it. Around our house, different family members call it scootie bootie, biss cootie or dunkers. You may know it as biscotti. Grandma likes hers without a topping and dunks it in her morning coffee. I like mine topped with a few zig zags of semi-sweet chocolate and a glass of cold milk. My husband prefers his topped with chocolate. Our 4 year-old eats it anyway, anywhere, and at anytime. Tonight some slices received a few zig zags of chocolate and for the first time, were topped with sprinkles!
He was such an enthusiastic helper. We made the dough this afternoon, wrapped it up, chilled it during nap time, and then baked it after dinner. I'm not sure if he was hungry or motivated by the biscotti, but he ate all of his vegetables at the dinner table without complaining. He helped pat the chilled dough into 2 loafs, watched it go into the oven, did a few silly dances and waited for it to be pulled out of the oven so that he could have his fair share.
Now it is 11PM and everyone has gone to sleep. I am left with a messy kitchen. One corner looks like it was dusted with snow (little bit's work area). No matter the mess, it was well worth the memories made and the tasty little cookies we produced.


This is actually a family recipe that I received many years ago from my sassy Sicilian Great Aunt. She passed away in 1999, but I think about her and my Grandma every time I use the recipe. I've looked up biscotti recipes online and my "family recipe" is similar to the other ones found. There are no secret ingredients in my recipe, just a few helpful hints on how long to bake it. Above are pictures of the process.
Buono Appetito!

Biscotti
2 1 /2 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
1/4 c butter (slightly softened or at room temp)
chopped almonds
2 tsp double acting baking powder
1 tsp almond flavor
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/4 c sliced almonds (optional)

Start at least 2 1/2 hours before you plan to serve it or up to a week ahead of time.

Into a large bowl, measure 1 1/2 c flour and remaining ingredients. With mixer at low sped, beat ingredients until just mixed; increase speed to medium and beat 3 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With sturdy spoon, stir in remaining flour until mixed. Add sliced almonds at his point if you wish. Wrap dough tightly in waxed paper; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. On a well-floured surface, with hands, shape each half into a 12" by 2" loaf; place both on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper spaced 2 inches apart. Bake 15 minutes for not so crumby texture or as long as 20 min.
Remove from oven. Using 2 sturdy metal spatulas, transfer each loaf to a wood cutting board and slice each loaf crosswise into 1 inch bars. Raise oven temp to 390. Turn bars on their sides, making sure they do not touch each other. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes (barely any golden) or up to 15 minutes, but not brown. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Store in tightly covered container or ziploc bag up to 1 week.

***I made this dairy free during the summer by using soy free and dairy free earth balance butter flavor spread. It was almost as good and did not negatively effect the texture. Using a digital scale, I weighed out the amount of the spread according to what 1/4 c of butter weighed. I didn't write it down though.