“Bridget is famous for her cookie exchange parties during Christmas time in which everyone brings in excess of 8 dozen cookies each to swap! (One year I made 125 Mincemeat Tarts for the party.) Her specialty is biscotti and she makes all sorts of varieties every year and brings them into the lab to share.” – April Ferre
Biscotti
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons Butter Softened
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Almond or Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs
- 2 1/4 Cup Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Optional Ingredients:
- Lemon or Orange Zest
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Anise, etc
- Dried Fruit (Cranberries, Raisins, Currants, Mango) Chopped
- Toasted Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios, Hazelnuts) Chopped
- Chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut
- Crystallized ginger
- Substitute other extracts for Vanilla or Almond.
- Other creative additions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add in almond extract, stir to combine. (Optional: add lemon or orange zest.)
- In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. (Optional: add spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.) Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; mixing until just combined.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix in other optional ingredients. Alternatively, knead in other optional ingredients on a lightly floured surface until just evenly distributed throughout the dough. Do not over mix or over knead.
- Grease or line with parchment paper two cookie sheets. Divide dough in half and form into a rectangle approximately 2-inches wide by ½-inch tall. Bake until golden brown and dough begins to split on the top; 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and drop temperature to 250 degrees.
- When cool enough to handle, cut into ½-inch slices along the diagonal. Lay each slice on its side on cookie sheets and return to oven. Bake 7 to 10 minutes more, then turn slices over and bake another 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
- If desired, dip one end of the biscotti in chocolate glaze (4 ounces chocolate, melted; 2 Tablespoons butter, vanilla extract.) and place on wax paper until solidified.
- Makes approximately 24 cookies.
2010 Recipe – Bridget McLaughlin – From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, 2008