Every Christmas
I make a variety of cookies for the holiday but I always make biscotti. The
twice baked Italian specialty, that you can find in any Starbucks, has become
commonplace in the US but could only be found in Italian bakeries when I was
young. This recipe from my mother follows the tradition of a hard biscotti that
is excellent when dunked in wine, hot chocolate, or espresso. It is definitely
one of my all time favorite cookie recipes.
1 TBS Crème de Cacao
(or 1
tsp. chocolate extract)
1 dozen Large Eggs
2 Navel Oranges
6 C Flour (sifted)
4 C Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 TBS Nestle Quick
1 lb. Whole Almonds
1 lb. Walnuts or Pecans
Preheat oven to 375o
F. Beat 11 eggs with Crème de Cacao in a
separate bowl. Grate peel from 2 navel
oranges and mix in a large bowl with flour through Nestle Quick. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry
ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.
Mix in nuts. The mixture will
still be slightly sticky. On a floured
board, divide mixture into 8 balls. Roll
each ball into a log and place two
logs on a parchment covered cookie sheet
(see photo). Beat remaining egg and
brush logs
with egg. Bake for 40
minutes.
Remove biscotti from the oven
and cut logs on a diagonal into 3/4 inch slices (see photo) while
log is still
warm using a serrated knife. Put the
slices back on the cookie sheet on end and put
them back in the oven for an
additional 15 minutes to toast. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
