Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
I keep making biscotti; it’s a problem.
This past weekend one of my very best friends, Jenna, had her baby shower. I made the favors. As I said recently. I’m not so interested in making pretty cookies, I just want them to taste good. Jenna and I went to Italy together once upon a time, and we enjoyed several (thousand) biscotti. I also figured some biscotti would be nice for people to dip in their morning coffee the day after the shower.
For something chocolaty, I used an old family recipe for a bittersweet chocolate biscotti with hazelnuts, because my Jenna loves hazelnuts.
It’s traditional in that it uses no fat, just lots of eggs. They wind up perfectly crunchy, but just often enough you’ll bite into a soft, sweet chocolate chip or an even MORE crunchy hazelnut. The drizzle of chocolate on top completes the perfection.
I had about ten left over and kept them in a bag on the counter. The shower was Saturday at noon and the biscotti, between my husband and myself, were gone by Sunday at 8:45 am. Seriously, alarmingly addictive.
Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Makes 20-30
2 2/3 c. flour
1 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. unsalted hazelnuts, toasted
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 c. milk chocolate wafers or chips, for drizzling
2-3 c. white chocolate wafers or chips, for drizzling
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and espresso in a large bowl.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs with vanilla until combined.
5. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until combined.
This mixture is INCREDIBLY sticky. As I say below, use two regular eating spoons, sprayed with cooking spray. Scoop with one spoon and scrape off dough with other spoon, like you were making regular drop cookies.
6. Using two spoons (that you sprayed with cooking spray), form two logs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make logs 4 inches wide, 1-2 inches high.
I wanted very long biscotti for the favors, but you should just make yours 4 inches wide instead of what you see here in the picture. Also, I had doubled the batch so you will probably just have enough batter for two logs.
7. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.
8. Let cool ten minutes, then transfer logs to cutting board.
9. Slice into 1 in. slices, and return slices back to pan, laying on their side. If biscotti seem too thin to lay on their sides, keep them right side up.
10. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
11. To melt chocolate, either microwave in a glass bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth, or use a double boiler. To create your own double boiler, fill a saucepan with about 1 in. of water set over medium-high heat. Set a metal or glass bowl inside saucepan, making sure it’s not touching the water. Stir occasionally until smooth.
12. Drizzle chocolate over cooled biscotti with a fork or spoon.
13. Repeat with white chocolate.
14. Cool 1-2 hours or until chocolate is totally set. Will keep at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Can be frozen for several months.
Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Makes 20-30
2 2/3 c. flour
1 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. hazelnuts, toasted
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 c. milk chocolate wafers or chips, for drizzling
2-3 c. white chocolate wafers or chips, for drizzling
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and espresso in a large bowl.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs with vanilla until combined.
5. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until combined.
6. Using two spoons (that you sprayed with cooking spray), form two logs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make logs 4 inches wide, 1-2 inches high.
7. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.
8. Let cool ten minutes, then transfer logs to cutting board.
9. Slice into 1 in. slices, and return slices back to pan, laying on their side.
10. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
11. To melt chocolate, either microwave in a glass bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth, or use a double boiler. To create your own double boiler, fill a saucepan with about 1 in. of water set over medium-high heat. Set a metal or glass bowl inside saucepan, making sure it’s not touching the water. Stir occasionally until smooth.
12. Drizzle chocolate over cooled biscotti with a fork or spoon.
13. Repeat with white chocolate.
14. Cool 1-2 hours or until chocolate is totally set. Will keep at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Can be frozen for several months.
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