New book shares all kinds recipes for the crunchy treat
By Faith Bahadurian
In ancient times, twice-baked biscotti, much like hardtack and made for dunking, sustained Roman troops as they built an empire.
But today’s biscotti, less hard but still crunchy, are often amped up with luxury ingredients. They can be packed with nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, or even savory cheese and herbs, and finished with flavored icings. They’ve been doing this all over Italy since Tuscan chef Antonio Mattei started popularizing the ancient treat in 1858, according to Montgomery-born author Domenica Marchetti, whose newest cookbook, “Ciao Biscotti,” has just been published. (She blogs at domenicacooks.com.)
Recipes in “Ciao Biscotti” are arranged under headings like “Chocolate and Spice” (where you’ll find the chocolate-cherry recipe below, and one with crushed Toblerone that I’ll be trying soon), “Biscotti with Fruit” (citrus, coconut, fig, etc.), and “Fantasy Flavors” (the Green Tea below). There’s also a section called “The Savory Side,” with ingredients including pancetta, cornmeal, Parmesan, and Gorgonzola, plus a small section at the end with a few of the author’s favorite non-biscotti cookies, perfect for a holiday tray.
”Ciao Biscotti” (Chronicle Books. 2015) is compact and colorful, with lay-flat binding, and photos by Antonis Achilleos. Brightly patterned backgrounds and vintage illustrations make this a winning gift, too. The front of the book is packed with information and tips about ingredients and techniques, and each recipe has a beverage pairing (sometimes alcoholic, sometimes not) provided by the author’s husband, journalist Scott Vance.
The recipes below have been adapted (especially for length) from “Ciao Biscotti.” If you don’t have a stand mixer, the author emailed me that “The traditional method of making the cookies is the same one used to make fresh pasta; that is, to mound the flour on the work surface, make a well and add the other ingredients, then mix everything together.”
Chocolate Chunk
with Cherries
Makes about 40.<br>
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup hazelnuts or whole almonds, or a mix, toasted
¾ cup dried tart cherries
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at cool room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled slightly
2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into small chunks
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix briefly on low; add nuts and cherries and mix briefly on low to combine. Add butter in pieces then mix until incorporated. Pour in eggs and mix on medium-low until mixture begins to come together. Add melted chocolate and chocolate chunks, then mix on medium-low until a soft, somewhat sticky dough has formed.
To bake, follow the directions below. Serve with cold milk or hot chocolate.
Green Tea
with White Chocolate Glaze
Makes about 30.<br>
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 to 2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sweet matcha powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and halved crosswise
4 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at cool room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
¼ cup half-and-half or milk
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
Combine 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, matcha, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer with paddle. Mix briefly on low. Add almonds and mix briefly on low. Add butter and mix on medium-low until mixture looks like damp sand. Add eggs and vanilla and mix on medium until a soft, slightly sticky dough has formed. Add a little more flour if dough seems too sticky.
To bake, follow the directions below.
For icing: Place rack over a rimmed baking sheet or sheet of wax paper. Arrange baked slices cut-side up on the rack. Microwave chocolate and half-and-half at 50 percent in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar briskly until no lumps remain. Add more if it seems too thin. Dip the tip of the whisk or a fork into the icing and drizzle back and forth over the biscotti. Refrigerate rack to let the icing set. Serve with hot unsweetened green tea.
Baking Directions: Adapt
temperature for each recipe
Heat the oven to 375 degrees for chocolate-cherry, or 350 for green tea biscotti. Lightly coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with the oil.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a disk. Divide in half. Lightly moisten your hands with water and gently roll each half into a rough oval. Place each one lengthwise on one side of baking sheet and stretch and pat it into a log about 2 to 2 ½ inches wide and 12 to 14 inches long. Press down lightly on the logs to flatten them out a bit.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (green tea takes less time than chocolate), or until lightly browned and just set, still a little springy to the touch, with cracks on the surface. Cool the baking sheet on a rack and use an offset spatula to loosen the logs. Let them cool five more minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool 20- to 30 minutes.
Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees for chocolate-cherry, or 300 for green tea biscotti.
Transfer cooled logs to a cutting board and use a Santoku or serrated bread knife to cut them on the diagonal into half-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices, cut-side-up, on the baking sheet (in batches if necessary) and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake another 10 minutes. Transfer slices to rack to cool.
Biscotti will keep for up to 10 days in a tightly lidded tin stored at room temperature.
Faith Bahadurian blogs at http://njspice.net (also Twitter @njspice).