Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mandel Brot/Biscotti


I thought I'd posted the recipe for these, but I can't find them in the archives, so here goes. This recipe is versatile and takes well to any number of fillings (nuts, fruit, chocolate, zests). They keep for a long time and ship easily. Grab yourself a nice cup of coffee/tea because these biscuits are great dunkers.

I'll give the recipe for the anisette ones, but for the chocolate just omit the fennel seeds and zests substituting cinnamon and chips. Mini chips are nice if you have them. Cinnamon chips are even better.

You Will Need:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups AP flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon aniseed
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
(optional cup of blanched almonds, which obviously, we skipped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or grease lightly.

Cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking power, and salt. Stir into batter. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Divide dough into three sections. Roll each section into a long rope about 1 1/2 inches around. Flatten the top slightly and place on sheets.

Bake 15 minutes. Remove and carefully cut slices about 3/4 inch thick. Lay on sides. Bake another seven minutes on each side. They may need a bit more time so if they seem too soft, or not yet browned, a couple more minutes of drying time won't hurt, but don't bake them too hard as they will crisp a bit as they cool.

Remove to racks and cool completely. Store in airtight containers. Makes a few dozen.

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