Description
Hazelnuts are ubiquitous in Italy and I reminisce about my time living there when I eat these delicate biscotti. I enjoy them every year on Christmas morning with a nice cup of coffee as the gift wrapping is ripped off each present. Full breakfast will follow, but until then a biscotti will just have to do.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cups Blanched Almonds, Toasted
- 1-½ cup Toasted Hazelnuts, Peeled And Chopped Into Large Pieces
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour, Sifted
- ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- 1 cup Sugar
- 12 ounces, weight Good Quality Bittersweet Chocolate, Cut Into Small Chunks
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoons Almond Extract
- 2 Tablespoons Amaretto
- 4 Tablespoons Water Or As Needed
Preparation
Grease a large baking sheet and set aside for the biscotti. Heat oven to 375°F.
Place almonds and hazelnuts on separate sheet pans and toast them in the oven as it warms up. The almonds only take about 5 minutes, so watch them carefully. The hazelnuts take a tad longer, just until they start to brown.
In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In a food processor, place ½ cup of the flour mixture and add the toasted almonds. Grind until fine and powdery (about 30 seconds).
Add the almond mixture to the bowl with the rest of the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Mix in chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, extract, and amaretto together. Add to dry ingredients and mix. If the mixture seems too dry, add 1 tablespoon water, up to 4 tablespoons as needed.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into 2 pieces. Roll out to 5x13x1 flattened rectangular logs. Transfer logs to greased baking sheet. Bake 25–30 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 300°F and cut logs diagonally with serrated knife. I find it’s easier to apply pressure to cut them rather than a slicing motion.
Grease pan again. Lay slices on one of their cut sides and bake 25–30 minutes. Let cool in oven.
