Plate of Biscotti
by Cat, October 2007 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons, photo by Stu Spivack)
Biscotti is a wonderful treat from Italy, but most countries across Europe make something similar. For example, in Denmark & Germany, they make Rusk (Skorpor or Zweiback). As a twice-baked cookie, they are excellent dipped in a coffee, latte or cappuccino, black tea, or sweet wine. Biscotti is made from a dense cookie dough resembling refrigerator cookies, made into a long log. After baking the log, it is cut into slices which are baked a second time, to dry out the cookie.
Traditional Biscotti is flavored with anise and/or almonds. These can be served plain, or dipped in chocolate. I offer several versions/variations (see ‘Includes’ list, below).
- See also: 1. Rusk (Skorpor or Zweiback); 2. Flour (About); 3. Sprouted Grain Flour (about); 4. Spelt vs Wheat in Baked Goods & Pasta; 5. Bittersweet Chocolate Biscotti
- Includes: 1. Baking method, all biscotti recipes; 2. Almond-Anise Biscotti with Chocolate & Chocolate-Dipped Variations (using whole wheat pastry or whole spelt flour); 3. Almond-Anise Biscotti with Sprouted Grain Flour;
Two other sprouted flour recipes I’d like to try, from Summers Sprouted Flour Co (3):
- Almond Sprouted Spelt Biscotti uses sprouted spelt, but you could use sprouted wheat: Per Shelly at Summers Sprouted Flour Co just start out with 2 ¼ cups, as sprouted wheat is a drier flour than spelt. Then add additional flour in small increments, if needed. I’ve not tried this one yet.
- Almond-Hazelnut Sprouted Spelt Biscotti who credit Ann Matthews, Simple Kneads Bakery, Greensboro, NC. It does not call for butter, but uses finely ground nuts to provide oil. The original recipe does not specify presoaking and drying the nuts, but they will be much more digestible if you do this (for the same reason that sprouted flour is better than unsprouted flour). While it suggests sprouted spelt, but you could use sprouted wheat: Per Shelly at Summers Sprouted Flour Co just start out with 2 1/4 cups, as sprouted wheat is a drier flour than spelt. Then add additional flour in small increments, if needed
Baking Method, for All Biscotti Recipes
Biscotti is a twice-baked cookie; the method for all versions is the same:
- Roll dough into a log (or 2 logs), flatten with hands to about 3″ wide, and bake for the prescribed time at 350° – 375°F. (NOTE: Log can be coated with egg white before baking, for a shiny crust.)
- Reduce heat to 325°F ; remove log(s) from oven and let rest until cool enough to handle.
- Then cut diagonally across the log into 1/2 inch-wide cookies.
- Arrange each on cookie sheet, cut-side up and bake again 12 – 15 minutes to dry them out.
- Dip one end into melted dark or white chocolate, if desired.
Almond-Anise Biscotti
This recipe is adapted from Stop and Smell the Rosemary (Junior League of Houston cookbook (1)), and makes 48 biscotti.
The original recipe calls for 1 ½ cups sugar; I have substituted with maple syrup and stevia. If you prefer to use sugar, I recommend dehydrated sugar cane juice (such as Rapadura brand sugar); add it with the dry ingredients and omit maple syrup and stevia.
Below the recipe are two variations:
- Chocolate Dipped, and
- Chocolate Biscotti (chocolate in the dough)
Ingredients & Equipment:
- Wet ingredients:
- 3 large, whole eggs
- ½ cup real unsalted butter, soft
- ½ tsp anise extract, or 1 ½ tsp almond extract
- ½ tsp grated lemon zest or ¼ tsp lemon oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup *
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour
- ¾ cup unbleached white flour
- 2 cups finely chopped soaked and dried almonds
- ½ tsp stevia extract powder (or ¼ tsp if using whole spelt flour) OR 1 ½ cups Rapadura sugar, mixed with dry ingredients (and omit the stevia) OR use half stevia and half sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder, aluminum free
- ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt
- Equipment:
- medium and large bowls
- hand mixer or egg whip
- wooden spoon
- cookie sheet(s)
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F; lightly grease a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan
- Cream wet ingredients in a large bowl on low speed until smooth.
- Measure flours, sugar*, baking powder, sea salt, and cocoa (if using) into a flour sifter and sift into a medium bowl. Stir in the finely chopped almonds and lemon zest (if using). *NOTE: If using maple syrup & stevia, mix maple syrup into the egg mixture, and sift the stevia with the flour.
- Slowly add flour mixture to egg mixture and blend well. Dough will be sticky.
- Shape dough into two 12 by 1 inch logs; place both on prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly to about 3 inches wide. First bake: Bake 30 minutes in preheated oven, ’til golden brown.
- Reduce oven to 325°F. Remove logs from oven and cool 10 minutes.
- Transfer one log at a time to cutting board. Slice diagonally into scant ½ inch thick biscotti. Arrange the biscotti, cut side up, on cookie sheet. Repeat with second log, using a second cookie sheet if necessary.
- Second bake: Return to oven and bake additional 12 to 15 minutes minutes, or longer for a drier cookie. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Store in an airtight jar up to 1 month.
Chocolate Biscotti Variation
- Omit lemon zest
- use 1 ½ tsp almond extract (do not use anise extract)
- add ¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa to flour mixture
Chocolate Dipped Biscotti Variation
- Dip one end of each biscotti into melted dark, bittersweet chocolate. Lay on sheet of waxed paper until chocolate cools and sets.
Testing
7/5/08: I tried this recipe using whole spelt and white spelt, instead of whole wheat and white flour, respectively; and I used anise rather than almond extract. Otherwise, as written. Excellent and easy. However, it was a bit sweeter than when made with wheat, probably because spelt is a sweeter flour. In future, I would use ¼ tsp stevia, when using spelt; recipe updated accordingly.
Almond-Anise Biscotti, with Sprouted Wheat or Spelt Flour
This recipe is adapted from Stop and Smell the Rosemary (Junior League of Houston cookbook (1)), to use Sprouted Grain Flour. If you wish to use sprouted spelt instead of wheat, refer to the last section of that article on how to modify the recipe.
I did not sprout my own flour but rather bought it from Summer’s Sprouted Grain (2), which may not always be available.
This is a test recipe, and only makes 24 biscotti. Total of about 1685 calories for the test recipe, or 70 calories per biscotti, if made as instructed.
To create this test recipe, I halved most ingredients, and used 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white. I used maple syrup (mixed into egg-butter mixture), and stevia (mixed with the flour), instead of ¾ cup sugar, because I wanted the added moisture of the maple syrup to work with the drier sprouted wheat flour (If you use sugar, reduce the sprouted flour by 2 – 4 Tbsp). I had no anise, so that was omitted.
See below for testing; I have not yet tested the chocolate version.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- Wet ingredients:
- 2 small, whole eggs (or 1 large whole egg and the white of another egg)
- ¼ cup real unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ tsp anise extract, or ¼ tsp ground anise
- ½ – 1 tsp almond extract
- ¼ tsp fresh-grated lemon zest, or a little less lemon oil
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- Dry ingredients:
- about 1 ¼ cup sprouted wheat ‘flour’ *
- 1 cup finely chopped soaked and dried almonds
- ¼ tsp stevia extract (or ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Rapadura Sugar)
- ¼ tsp baking powder, aluminum free
- ⅛ tsp Unrefined sea salt
- Equipment:
- medium and large bowls
- hand mixer or egg whip
- wooden spoon
- cookie sheet(s)
* NOTE: If using sprouted spelt, you may need 2 – 4 Tbsp more than with sprouted wheat, as it is more moist than wheat. And you may want to cut back a bit on the sweetener, perhaps only ⅛ tsp stevia or ⅔ cup sugar, as spelt is a sweeter flour.
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F, and lightly grease a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan
- Cream “wet ingredients” in a large bowl on low speed until smooth.
- Measure 1 cup of the ‘flour’ into a medium bowl; add sugar, baking powder, sea salt, and cocoa (if using). Fluff with a fork to incorporate air around the flour particles. Stir in the finely chopped almonds, and fluff again. This fluffing incorporates air “bubbles” around the grains of flour.
- Slowly add flour mixture to egg mixture and blend well. Dough will be sticky.
- Turn out onto a surface floured with about 1 Tbsp of the sprouted flour and knead. If dough is still sticky, knead in another Tbsp of the flour. Repeat until dough is stiff and not very sticky.
- Shape dough into a 12′ long log; place on prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly to about 3 inches wide. Bake 30 minutes in preheated oven, ’til golden brown.
- Reduce oven to 325°F. Remove log from oven and cool 10 minutes.
- Transfer log to cutting board. Slice diagonally into scant ½ inch thick biscotti. Arrange the biscotti, cut side up, on cookie sheet.
- Return to oven and bake additional 12 to 15 minutes minutes, or longer for a drier cookie. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Store in an airtight jar up to 1 month.
Chocolate Biscotti Variation
This is for the half recipe used to test the sprouted flour version
- Omit lemon zest
- omit anise extract or ground anise
- increase almond extract to ¾ tsp
- add 2 Tbsp Dutch processed cocoa to flour mixture
Chocolate-Dipped Biscotti Variation
Dip one end into melted dark or white chocolate, if desired.
Testing Sprouted Flour Adaptation
11/5/07 result: Fresh lemon zest is fairly moist and so did not disperse into the flour, but rather clumped. In future, I’d mix the lemon zest into the butter/egg mixture instead of the flour. The final product has great texture but the graham-like flavor of the flour overwhelms the almond flavor. Next time, increase almond extract to 1 tsp (from ½ tsp), and hopefully by then I’ll have some anise! I’ve modified the recipe with these changes.
References:
- Stop and Smell the Rosemary (Junior League of Houston cookbook)
- creatingheaven.net (Summer’s Sprouted Grains)
- Sprouted flour biscotti: creatingheaven.net/eeproducts/eesfc/recipes/biscotti.html
