Pascale’s Kitchen: Biscotti: My favorite cookies of all time

Whenever I find myself with a little extra time on my hands, I immediately set about gathering all the ingredients necessary to bake a batch of cookies. In fact, I often have a hard time deciding which cookies to make, so I end up baking three or four different types. I love to store them in large glass cookie jars that I set up on my counter top so that anytime someone enters the kitchen, they can’t help but open up one or more jars and commence nibbling on a freshly baked cookie or two or three. 

For more of Pascale's recipes, click here>>

I actually think that these jars full of home-baked cookies might be my favorite thing to look at in the world. Although I love tin boxes and decorative cookie jars, I prefer to be able to see exactly which cookies are inside the jars.

One of my absolute favorite types of cookies is biscotti, not to be confused with ladyfingers. Biscotti are cookies that hail from Italian, French, and North African cuisine, and there are many different versions. Some are thick, and some are thin. Sometimes they are light, and other times dark brown. Their texture and level of crunchiness depends on what extra ingredients you add to the dough. Basic biscotti dough calls for flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, you can add an endless number of other ingredients, such as lemon or orange zest, cloves, cinnamon, aniseed, and ginger. I also like to add lots of nuts, raisins, oatmeal, cranberries, honey, cocoa powder, or chocolate. Basically, the sky is the limit. 

The way to make biscotti is to mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, and then gradually add the wet ingredients to the first bowl. Knead the dough, then add any extra items such as nuts or dried fruits. Next, get your hands wet, since the dough is a bit sticky, and shape the dough into loaves. Place them on trays covered with baking paper, making sure there’s space between them, and gently flatten them. Brush a little water on top, then bake them twice. Interestingly, the name “biscuit,” or “biscotti,” actually means “baked twice.” The first time you bake the biscotti is when they are in the shape of loaves. Then, you slice them into individual cookies, return them to the baking sheet and bake them again. Once they’re done baking, let them cook down completely, then store them in airtight containers. 

Biscotti cookies are normally prepared in two different sizes: 12 cm. long; or 25 cm long (about 5 or 10 inches). The larger ones are especially festive looking. As such, they are a great treat to prepare to give friends and family as gifts. If you make slices that are 1 cm. wide, this is the ideal size and shape for dipping in a piping hot cup of tea or coffee. 

This week, I’m bringing you four different biscotti recipes. The first one is a basic biscotti recipe. The second is a recipe for crispy almond croquants, which is French for “crunchy cookies.” The recipe hails from Tunisian cuisine. The third recipe is for chocolate-covered hazelnut biscotti. You can choose whichever version most closely fits your taste. I recommend trying all of them before deciding which you love the most. I can guarantee that you’ll be impressed with the variation in flavor, texture, and crunchiness between the different versions. 

BASIC BISCOTTI 

Makes 50 cookies.

• 3 cups flour, sifted
• 1 packet baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 or 2 drops vanilla extract
• 3 extra-large eggs
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar (can be combination of white and brown sugar)
• 2 Tbsp. liqueur or orange juice
• 1 ½ cups walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts (you can use just one type or a mixture)
• 1 ½ cups almonds or pistachios
• 1 cup light raisins

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Then combine the ingredients from both bowls together. Get your hands a little wet, then form 2 or 3 loaves and place them on trays covered with baking paper, making sure to leave space between the loaves. 

Bake them in an oven that has been preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes or until the center of the loaf has hardened but is still light in color. They should not have browned. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely. 

Cut each loaf into slices that are between ½ cm and 1 cm thick. Place the slices back on the baking paper and bake them for another 20 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 150°C until they have browned. Flip them over and bake them for another 15-20 minutes. Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

• Level of difficulty: Medium
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Status: Parve

CRISPY ALMOND CROQUANTS

This recipe, which originates from Tunisian cuisine, makes cookies that are denser and harder to bite than biscotti. They are also cut into larger pieces, so that they can easily be dipped in a cold Rosetta almond drink. 

Makes 35-40 cookies.

• 7 ¾ cups flour, sifted
• 3 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup unroasted pistachios, shells removed  
• 2 tsp. (10 gr.) ammonium bicarbonate 
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup water (or orange juice)
• Zest of 1 lemon or orange

Egg wash:

• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup water

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the sugar, almonds, pistachios, ammonium bicarbonate, eggs, water and lemon zest. Knead the dough with an electric mixer fitted with a dough attachment or by hand until all the ingredients have been mixed in well. 

Form the dough into 4 logs, placing 2 logs in each pan that are greased well.

Beat the egg with the water, then brush on each log. 

Bake the dough in an oven that has been preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes. Slice the logs into pieces that are 1 cm. thick. Place the slices back on the pans and bake for another 20-25 minutes at 180°C until they turn golden brown. Flip them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

• Level of difficulty: Medium
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Status: Parve

CHOCOLATE-COVERED HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Makes 50 cookies.

• 3 cups flour, sifted
• 1 packet baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 or 2 drops vanilla extract
• 3 extra-large eggs
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon or orange zest
• 1 ½ cups pecans
• 1 ½ cups almonds
• 1 cup light raisins

Toppings:

• 50 gr. bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 50 gr. white chocolate, melted
• Colored sprinkles

Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, and the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Next, combine the ingredients from both bowls together. Wet your hands, and then form 2 or 3 loaves with the dough. Place them on trays that are covered with baking paper.

Bake them in an oven that has been preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes until the top has hardened but the loaves are still light in color. They should not have browned. Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool completely. 

Slice into pieces that are between ½ cm. and 1 cm. thick. Place the pieces on the trays and bake for another 20 minutes at 150°C until they’ve browned. Flip the pieces over and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.  

Place the cookies on a wire rack and pour the two types of chocolate on one or both sides of the cookies. Then, sprinkle with colored sprinkles and let the chocolate harden. Store in an airtight container.

• Level of difficulty: Medium
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Status: Parve

CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Makes 35-40 cookies.

• 1 ½ cups flour, sifted
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• ½ packet baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1-2 drops vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts
• ¾ cup almonds or pistachios
• 3 cups dried cranberries or raisins
• ½ cup sesame seeds
• 50 gr. bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl, and all of the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Then, combine the ingredients of both bowls and form into 2 or 3 loaves. Place the dough on two trays lined with baking paper, leaving space in between the loaves. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes or until the center has hardened but are still light in color. They should not have browned. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely. 

Slice into pieces that are between ½ cm. and 1 cm. thick. Place the pieces on the same trays and bake them for another 20 minutes at 150°C until they’ve browned. Turn them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 

• Level of difficulty: Medium
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Status: Parve

Translated by Hannah Hochner.