Happy 2012! I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday. I certainly did. Ryan and I returned home today from 10 relaxing days of quality time with family and friends and I am counting down the days until next Christmas.
Biscotti has been on my “to bake” list for the last few weeks, so I finally decided put one foot hand in front of the other today.
I was inspired by this recipe from Food and Wine but I really wanted to add Nutella, so I did. If you add it, watch out, it makes it quite crumbly so feel free to omit it.
I listened to this catchy tune by Akon and Lonley Island while baking the biscotti. Don’t get offended – this SNL song is sheer brilliance (proof: 148 million youtube views!) and before you know it, you’ll be humming or singing the lyrics in public.
Ok, back to the biscotti..Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 tablespoons Nutella
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (5 Bakers squares)
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios (6 ounces)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs at low-speed until a crumbly dough forms.
- In another bowl, beat the brown sugar with the butter and the vanilla and almond extracts until combined. Scrape the mixture into the crumbly dough and beat at medium speed until a soft, sticky dough forms. Add the Nutella, chopped chocolate, Chocolate Chips and shelled pistachios and beat at low-speed just until evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough into 2 clumps and transfer to each baking sheet. Form each clump into an 10-inch-long square logs; pat the logs until they’re about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick.
- Bake for about 22 minutes, until the logs are puffed and springy to the touch; rotate the pans halfway through baking.
- Carefully transfer the logs to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 200°.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the logs crosswise into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices; each log will yield about 20. Return the slices to the baking sheets and bake for about 30 minutes longer, flipping the biscotti once after 15 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to racks to cool for a full 20 minutes.
