Chocolate Biscotti

Christmas is the time for family, right? We rush around, shopping and baking for our loved ones. But for me, my family just extends to one person, my mom. I don’t consider my dad family (long story, get me drunk and I’ll spill) and most of my mom’s family lives in Indonesia, a small island near to Australia and South East China.

So Christmases are normally pretty mellow. But this year, one of my mom’s nieces joined a rotary club and was given the opportunity to live in the U.S. for a year, studying in school and living with a host family. She is staying in upstate NY, where the snow is falling and temperatures are dipping below comfortable. Talk about a 180, right? Compared to Indonesia, upstate NY probably seems like Alaska. This time of year, I’m sure that she is missing her family and needing some comfort.

While we weren’t able to fly her out to spend the holidays with us, we decided to send her a care package to get her through the holidays. We are shipping just some small Christmas gifts, like scarves, gift certificates, and of course baked goods.

One major issue about shipping cross-country is shelf life. Most baked goods will dry out if not eaten or freezed so I wanted to find the perfect treats that wouldn’t dry out. I scoured the net, and cookbooks and settled on two things: pound cake, and biscotti. Not just any biscotti though, chocolate biscotti. Heaven, right?

I found the recipe in my handy dandy Dorie Greenspan book and talk about wow. The cookies were full of nutty goodness and chocolaty flavor. This was my first time making biscotti and I wasn’t let down. The chopped up bittersweet chocolate and the slivered almonds complimented each other beautifully. And the cracked, sugar crust just sinks into your teeth, with crumbs crunching everywhere. Hey, I never said this was a mess-free cookie.

While they were yummy fresh out of the oven, these cookies are even better the next morning after being wrapped up in a tin overnight. No more store bought biscotti for me, it’s homemade for me from now one.

So if you are searching for a shippable baked treat, don’t forget biscotti. Not only are they delicious, but they will last long enough for your loved one to enjoy, without the cookie drying out or breaking a part.

Chocolate Biscotti
from Baking: From my home to yours

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped almonds, blanched or unblanched
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment or cooking spray.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat butter with sugar on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes. The mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.  Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer peed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until the dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead in any ingredients that might’ve escaped mixing.

4. Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into 12 inch long logs. Flatten both logs with the palm of your hand, so that they are 1/2 inch to 1 inch high, about 2 inches across and sort of rectangular, then carefully life the logs onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with some sugar.

5. Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack- and that’s just fine! Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack and cool the logs for 20 minutes.

6. Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch thick. Stand slices up on the baking sheet and bake the cookies again for ten minutes. Transfer the biscotti to cooling rack, cool, and then enjoy!