Biscotti

American-Style Biscotti

American-style biscotti are lighter and more tender than their Italian counterparts. They are hard enough to dunk in coffee or tea and they don't fall apart easily. Once you make this easy recipe, you won't want to drink coffee or tea without having a biscotti nearby!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick, 3 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup (4 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) flour (unbleached, all-purpose)
• 1 cup unsalted almonds or other nuts (lightly roasted)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a large (about 18x13 inch) baking sheet.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, eat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla (or almond extract), and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled. Lower the mixer speed, add the flour, and mix until smooth. Finally add the nuts and mix very gently. The dough will be quite soft and sticky, but should hold its shape when you drop it from a spoon.
3. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into a rough log about 14 inches long. It will be about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 3/4 inches thick. 

      4.   Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan anywhere from 5       to 25 minutes. Five minutes before cutting, use a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water to    lightly but thoroughly spritz the log, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top. Softening the crust just this little bit will make slicing the biscotti much easier.

Out of the oven, ready to slice.

5.   Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Wait another 5 minutes, then cut the biscotti into 1/2 

      to 3/4 inch slices. When you're slicing, be sure to cut straight up and down, if you cut at an angle,       

      biscotti may be thicker at the top than the bottom, and they'll topple over during their second bake.

6.   Set the biscotti upright on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven 

      and transfer to a rack to cool.

7.   Store the biscotti in an airtight container, to preserve their texture. If they aren't as crunchy as you'd like, store them uncovered, overnight, to continue drying. Biscotti can be stored at room temperature for 1 week.