Two Kinds Of Biscotti - Lemon Almond Biscotti & Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

First up, a recipe for Lemon Almond Biscotti -  nice, light, not too crunchy, although baked twiced, easy to make and with a bit of an elegant look to them. These can be enjoyed as they are, dunked into coffee, tea or sweet dessert wine or served as a little cookie on the side with stewed or fresh fruit, or, of course lovely ice cream or a fruity sorbet.

If you are a reader of my blog, you will have noticed that I have posted many different recipes for Biscotti (also know as Cantuccini) before - if you are interested, you can take a look at my recipe for Espresso, Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate Biscotti here or go for my festive Gingerbread and Almond Biscotti here and my Speculaas Biscotti with Almonds here.

Just a few notes concerning this particular recipe for Lemon Almond Biscotti. Since the Biscotti are baked twice, there is no need to toast the almonds beforehand but if you prefer the almonds to be darker and have a slightly more nutty flavor, you can toast the almonds before mixing them into the dough. To toast the almonds, spread them on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast until lightly golden and just until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool before you add them to the dough.

You should also note that this recipe can be mixed by stand mixer with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, or by hand with a wooden spoon.

Lemon Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

• 140g (½ cup plus 2 tbs) superfine (baking) sugar
• 8g pure vanilla sugar OR use ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 60g (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp Amaretto
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (from one organic/untreated lemon), plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 egg (M), plus 1 egg white (M), free range or organic
• 190g (1 ½ cups) AP (plain) flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• a pinch of fine sea salt
• 100g (½ cup) slivered almonds
• powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, vanilla sugar, butter, Amaretto, lemon zest and juice. 
2. Stir in egg and egg white.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture just until combined.
5. Stir in almonds.
6. Cover dough with kitchen wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
7. Preheat your oven to 175° C (350°F).
8. Halve dough and place on baking sheet lined with backing parchment.
9. Form into two logs. NOTE: if you find the dough too sticky to handle, moisten your hands with some water.
10. Bake until pale golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Carefully loosen logs from the baking sheet, then cool on sheets on wire racks, about 10 to 15 minutes.
12. Transfer logs to your cutting bord.
13. With a serrated knife, cut logs into 1cm (0.3 in) slices and arrange on baking sheet.
14. Bake until Biscotti are pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
15. Transfer Biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely.
16. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional). NOTE: the cooled Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container (cookie tin). Recipe yields about 30 cookies.

If you are looking to bake Biscotti with a bit more crunch and with lots of chocolate the Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti are for you. These dark beauties have a deep chocolaty flavor. And lots of pistachios, those slim, oblong nuts, ranging from pale, creamy yellow to dark green, that are kernels of small olive-like fruit. Make sure you use the freshest pistachios you can, get them from a reliable source with a high turnover and keep any leftovers in a jar in your fridge.

Double Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

• 250g (2 cups) AP (plain) flour
• 50g (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Belgian or Dutch cocoa powder maent for baking)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 85g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 200g (1 cup) superfine baking (caster) sugar
• 8g pure vanilla sugar OR use ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs (M), free range or organic 
• 125g (1 cup) natural, unsalted pistachios (shelled) – make sure that you remove as much of the dry skins as possible before you add the pistachios to your dough (best done by rubbing the skinds off between the layers of a tea towel), coarsely chopped
• 100g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use 72%)
• powdered sugar

Preparation

1. In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined well. 
4. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. 
5. Stir in pistachios and chocolate chunks.
6. Pre-heat your oven to 175° C (365° F).
7. On a parchment lined baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each about 30cm (12in) long and 5cm (2in) wide, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 
8. Bake logs for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. 
9. Cool logs on baking sheet for about 5 to 10 minutes. 
10. Then transfer to a cutting board and cut the logs diagonally into 2 cm (0.75in)  slices. 
11. Arrange Biscotti, cut sides down, on your parchment lined baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. 
12. Cool Biscotti on a rack.

Recipe note - the dough yields two logs with 16 biscottis each – you can bake one log and freeze the other, or, of course, bake both logs at the same time on the same baking sheet. Biscotti keep in an airtight container for about one week and frozen, about one month.

Enjoy!