Miguel eats these biscotti almost every day.  This recipe is a variation of a recipe from The Splendid Table, which adapted it from Tony Lenox.  Betti has added grated lemon or orange zest and dipped the biscotto in dark chocolate.  It’s a great breakfast!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 1 cup sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched OR 1 cup pistachios (I usually grind about 1⁄3 of them, then combine them with the whole pistachio kernels)
  • Zest of 3 lemons OR zest of 2 oranges

Preparation

  1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the cornmeal and whisk again to blend.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy.
  3. Beat in the almond extract and lemon or orange zest. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a soft stick-to-your-fingers dough that will ball up around the paddle or beaters.
  4. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes before continuing.
  5. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet. Using your fingers and a rubber spatula or scraper, work the dough into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. The log will be more rectangular than domed and bumpy, rough and uneven. Form a second log with the remaining dough on the other side of the baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool the logs on the baking sheet for 30 – 60 minutes.
  7. If you turned off the oven, bring it back up to 350 degrees F.
  8. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board and, with a long sharp knife, trim the ends and cut the logs into 3/4- inch-thick slices.
  9. Return the slices to the baking sheet–this time standing them up like a marching band–and slide the sheet back into the oven. Cook for 15 minutes.
  10. Allow the biscotti to cool for an hour or so.
  11. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. I usually use Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Baking Chips, and I put about ½ a bag into a bowl and then microwave on 50% power for several minutes, warming it for 1 minute at a time, stirring it, and then re-heating it until it is ready.
  12. Dip the cooled biscotti in the melted chocolate and set onto a separate platter. Allow the chocolate to dry, and then store the biscotti.