Almost Gianduia Biscotti

Sitting here at work with my eyes blurry from lack of sleep I was thinking intently about biscotti. Actually, more to the point, I was thinking about dunking biscotti into a nice, large mug of steaming, hot hazelnut latte. If I were Italian then my fantasy would probably include a nice glass of wine instead of coffee. But, alas, I'm not and I'm tired so my mind refuses to even admit the substitution.

I'll just have to wait until I get home this afternoon because I'm not, repeat am not, going to go to Starbucks and throw away $8. I could probably make at least 20 biscotti for that price. Matter of fact, I have some sitting on my counter right now from several weeks ago. They quite literally will keep forever especially in a cool house like mine. Back during Roman times these hard little cookies were the staples of soldiers and adventurers. "Hard" just about sums it up too.

After baking my first batch I had to check for poison. I mean, I wouldn't want anyone else dying because I neglected to check a batch of cookies. I just picked up a small piece, the scraggly ones are always sacrificed for the greater good, and proceeded to break out my front teeth. OK, I didn't actually chip any teeth but it sure felt like it for a second. Pressing on, I proceeded to bite chunks off with my jaw teeth and crunch the rock like biscuit to bits. Don't ask why I didn't make coffee or dip it in some milk or tea. I'm just weird like that and I honestly have no idea. Needless to say, my mouth was kind of abused that day but I was satisfied that, yes, I had avoided the poison and the batch was safe.

The next day, I made some hot tea and the biscotti was only better when dunked. The hot liquid infused the bread with flavor while slightly melting the chocolate. Somehow you could taste the flavor of the almonds more strongly even though the bread was now saturated with Lady Grey. It was really good.

I'm thinking seriously of making some biscotti with dried cherries, dark chocolate and pecans for Christmas. My previous batch with almonds and dark chocolate reminded me of Gianduia, that quintessential chocolate/hazelnut combination. You can pretty much use biscotti as a tabula rasa just like shortbread. Just keep in mind that with Italian biscotti 2 c. is about the limit with add-ins, especially nuts. Otherwise, the dough becomes too crumbly and will likely fall apart on you. If you find yourself too adventurous, try adding 2 tbsp water or oil and work it in until the dough holds up.

The recipe for this biscotti base comes from The King Arthur Cookie Companion. There is an entire chapter on biscotti; 22 pages, yeah that's right, 22 pages of biscotti. This is a great book full of tips, techniques, and both American and International treats. If you're into baking you should definitely check it out.

Makes 14 - 16 biscotti

2 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. dark chocolate chips (opt.)
1 c. whole natural almonds, roughly broken (opt.)

1. Preheat oven 350°F.
2. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, all ingredients except add-ins and flour until creamy and thin as pancake batter. Add water if necessary.
4. Slowly add flour until totally incorporated.
5. Stir in chocolate and nuts.
6. Transfer dough to prepared pan and shape it into a wide log roughly 14" long, 2 ½" wide and ¾" thick.
7. Smooth the top and sides with a wet scraper or spatula.
8. Bake 25 min.
9. Let cool on pan ~20 min. Then remove to cutting board.
10. Lightly sprinkle or spritz water over log to soften crust and make cutting easier. Wait 5 min.
11. Reduce oven to 325°F.
12. Cut biscotti into ½ - ¾" slices.
13. Set the biscotti upright on prepared pan ~½" apart.
14. Bake 25 min.
15. Remove from oven and cool completely on rack.
16. Store in an airtight container.