How To Make Biscotti Toscani

I remember my mother making biscotti for the holiday’s. I also remember her making several different varieties.

While we were discussing biscotti, I raided her cookbooks and found a biscotti book. I had no idea there were so many different kinds. A few varieties stick out to me. Biscotti toscani happens to be one of the first recipes I made entirely on my own.

I’ve adapted this recipe from the book Biscotti by Lou Seibert.

Don’t tell my mother but I still have this book. I haven’t return it yet. I have more I want to make.

Here is how I make Biscotti Toscani.

First, gather the ingredients.

Start with the almonds.

Measure 1/2 cup whole almonds.

Toast the almonds, place in oven at 325 for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.

Signature Almonds, Whole suppreme, 3 Pound work great for this recipe.

 

Now for the dough.

• 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar

Mix until smooth and creamy.

Grab 2 eggs.

Add the eggs one at a time. The image below shows one egg already mixed in and the next egg is ready to be mixed.

Measure 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Add the vanilla and mix.

Measure 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

Add the almond extract and mix.

1 orange zest

Zest a whole orange.

Add the orange zest and mix.

Set aside the wet ingredients.

Next combine the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Now that the almonds have had a chance to cool, chop them into smaller pieces.

I took the cheap way out and put them in a plastic bag and hit them with the hammer. I didn’t have a nice little chopper until recently so I had to improvise. Plus I’m a guy and men like to hit stuff with hammers.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

Add the chopped almonds.

Mix until the almonds are incorporated into the dough.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Separate the dough in half and roll out into two loaves.

Placing the dough on parchment paper allows you to easily transport the biscotti to a cutting board.

You will need to remove this from the oven and let cool before you slice and bake it again. It’s much easier to have it on parchment paper.

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove from cookie sheet. Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit for 5 minutes.

Cut the loaves into one inch slices as shown above.

Place back into the oven for another eight to ten minutes. Once you remove them from the oven again, transfer them to a cooling rack.

That’s it, you are done. If all went well your biscotti toscani should look some thing like this.

This really is a versatile cookie. I can have it for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or dessert. When do you enjoy your biscotti toscani?