Traditional Almond Biscotti

Traditional Almond Biscotti Recipe

yields sixteen biscotti

Ingredients

1 cup (400 grams) almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely*

2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups (225 grams) all-purpose flour

Directions

     Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes or until golden in a preheated 275 degrees F (135

degrees C) oven. Let cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside. *you can also do this on the stove top, as I have done in the past when my oven is less than reliable.  Just make sure to toss them regularly and use a wide enough bottomed pan, since a crowded bunch of almonds won't toast as evenly.  But the results are basically the same.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Beat the sugar and eggs together until creamy (about 5 minutes).  Then, beat in the almond extract.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add these dry ingredients to the egg-n-sugar mixture and mix until combined.  Lastly, fold in the chopped almonds.

Form dough into a log, about 12 inches (30 cm) long and 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) wide.  Really, just make them the size you like.  The past two times I have made this recipe, I have lined my baking sheet with parchment paper and have found that it helped a lot with removing the log once it was par-baked.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350F, or until the log is firm.  Remove from oven and let cool (optional: on a wire

rack) for about 10 minutes.

While the log cools, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Transfer the log to a cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) diagonal slices.  Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.  This will take longer/more turns if you're baking in a humid climate.  You're not really worrying about "baking" the biscotti, so much as drying it out, so as long as they're not burning/crisping, don't fret!

Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.  I'm not sure how long these will keep, but if they're stored well, maybe for a week or two.  

     Another note about this recipe is that, because the biscotti don't really "rise," it is very easy to make these gluten-free!  I have made this recipe twice, one gluten-free and once with normal all-purpose flour.  When I made them gluten free, I substituted 7/8 cups of gluten-free baking mix and 7/8 cups of plain rice flour for the 1 3/4 cups white flour called for in the original recipe.