| Baking pan - 1 sheet pan covered in parchment paper
Method:
First off you need to toast the almonds. Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.
Spread the almonds out in a single layer on your sheet pan. Bake for 6-7 minutes until the almonds are golden brown and fragrant. Really watch the almonds the last couple of minutes as you don't want them to burn.
Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before chopping. Now, I like to chop them by hand, but you don't have to if that is too much work. If you have a blender or a food processor you can drop them in there and pulse a few times. What we are looking for is pieces that are not bigger than a ¼ in diameter. Smaller is okay, but we don't want a ground paste.
If you are going to chop them by hand, do it in ¼ batches rather than trying to get the whole measure a uniform size at one time. Spread the almonds out flat so they are all a little separate from each other.
Using your chopping knife chop each almond into four or more pieces. It just takes a little focus to make sure you are getting the right size, and the time spent now will be rewarded at the end. So don't rush and make sure you've got those almonds chopped small.
Set a rack in the upper third of your oven (the rack is still going to be hot, so use oven mitts!) and preheat to 325 degrees.
In your large mixing bowl or the work bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter. You could do this by hand with a wire whisk, but it takes forever! If you are using a stand mixer use the wire whisk attachment, otherwise use a set of electric beaters.
When the butter is light, add the sugar in a stream and continue to beat until they are completely combined and are light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Grate the orange zest, add it to the mixture along with the orange liquor and cinnamon. Beat to combine.
In a small bowl combine the flour, backing powder and salt. With the beaters or mixer running add it all in one batch and mix until just combined. We don't want to over beat the cookie dough!
Add the almonds and mix until combined. What you will now have is a fairly stiff cookie dough.
Now you have a decision to make. I like my biscotti as smallish cookies instead of the longer ones you get at the coffee shop. I'll give you instructions for both, so you can choose which you'd prefer.
To make the smaller cookies, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two even pieces. Quickly work each piece into a cylinder 10" long and about 1 ½" to 2" in diameter. Place each of the cylinders on the sheet pan with about 3" of space between them.
To make the bigger cookies, just form the whole dough into a cylinder about 12" long and 3" to 3 ½" in diameter. Place it in the center of your sheet pan.
Slide the sheet pan into the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the dough has risen and set up. It should be firm but not hard at this point.
Remove form the oven and allow dough to cool for about 5 minutes. Now it is time to cut into cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut ½ in thick slices, cutting at a 45 degree angle to the length of the dough. This will give you a cookie that is longer than the width of the dough.
Once they are cut, put the cookies back onto the baking pan, laying it on its side so the rounded top is not sticking up. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and turn all of the cookies over. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
The biscotti will now be hard, but still just slightly tender to the tooth. If you like your biscotti rock hard (my sisters do for some unknown and unknowable reason) turn the oven off and let them sit in there for another 30 minutes.
If you like them a little al dente remove them from the oven and allow them cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to a year.
There you have it Bread Heads, a classic Italian treat you can whip up any time you like!
The flour is yours. |
