Tag: biscotti

Biscotti and the ancient art to make it

Biscotti are the beloved cookies of every Italian family. The term means twice-cooked, and comes from the habit of baking cookie dough in long bars. Then the dough would have been cutting into half-inch thick cookies, which will be having heated again in order to dry them out and keep better and longer. Many variations in the way biscotti were made reflects the regional differences.

Home-made biscotti are in most Italian families beloved and they prefer to bake cookies, also following the traditional recipes of grannies and mothers but also coming from excellent chef like Pellegrino Artusi and his classical crunchy Biscotti, as he shows in his famous book  La Scienza in Cucina: simple ingredients and great impact!

Ingredients:

  1. 3 1/3 cups (400 g) flour
  2. 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  3. 2/5 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
  4. 1/2 cup less two tablespoons almonds
  5. 1/4 cup raisins
  6. 1/4 cup pine nuts
  7. 2 teaspoons candied citron or melon
  8. A pinch of powdered anise
  9. 2 tablespoons aquavit
  10. 1 scant teaspoon bicarbonate
  11. 1 whole egg + 3 yolks

How to make it

  • You need to peel the almonds, leaving them whole.
  • Then mince the candied fruit and scoop out a hole in the mound of flour.
  •  Put together the eggs, the sugar, the butter, the aquavit, and the bicarbonate.
  • Knead a dough without working the ingredients too much, then make an opening in it, add the almond and the candied fruit, knead again the dough to distribute them, and roll it out.
  • Cut the roll into five pieces, grease and put flour in a pan, brush them with egg yolk, and bake all at 350 F (180 C) for about fifteen minutes, or until lightly browned.
  • Once they are cooked, you need to slice them into round cookies, and put them again into the oven for 10-15 min. more.

Biscotti bliss: few steps in simplicity

Why in Italy does everyone love biscuits? It is very interesting understanding how such an easy recipe can be so different even from house to house in Italy! Not to mention the differencies among the regions, and the towns! Because there is an element of childhood in it! Biscotti are like bread and pizza an homemade recipe for dessert which every family and every town jelously hide! These crunchy Italian biscotti are baked twice: first as a log, and then as individual slices.

We are going to discover how! And if you have an Italian friend ask him/her his/her secrets.  Or his/her grandmother’s recipe. If you are really gentle and you are really generous, meaning you will give the cookies as a gift to your friend then maybe he/she will reveal the hidden secrets of the family recipes.

How are we going to make it? Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix dough, adding common flavours like anise, orange, almond, chocolate or hazelnut. Even dried cranberries and pistachios, or lemon or nuts and also lavander are the best adding!

fBiscotti can big or small, as you like, for a big breakfast or for a little espresso coffee. The dough has to be sticky!

After the first baking, the biscotti form are firm and very lightly browned! After having sliced neatly, just baked another time to dry out the biscotti without browning them! A low oven temperature and a slow baking time are the key.

Once the biscotti have cooled, you can decorate them if you wish, dunking them in chocolate or rolling them in  nuts.

Well-dried biscotti  can be stored in a tightly closed container for months and you can even taste it with a lovely wine like vinsanto, perfect for the almond cookies coming from Tuscany and called amaretti!