Edible Awesomeness
ARTISIAN BISCOTTI
All "artisian" is, is a cop-out way of saying its handmade and probably not pretty looking. Think of the artisian sandwiches at your local uppity cafe. Ooo...lettuce and cucumbers falling all out of a messy pita bread...how ARTISIAN...so it must be worth $12. No. But if you add 'artisian' in front of anything you can get away with not being Martha Stewart.
These will not look perfect! Each will be slightly different, some in undoubtedly crumble, but they WILL BE fucking delicious!
And you can do whatever you want to them. You can add whatever extras into the dough, roll them in whatever dips, nuts, candy, etc.
When fresh, biscotti is much softer and cookie like. It can be eaten without the need to soften it in liquid or risk looking like a long-time meth-head. Biscotti lasts for weeks in tupperware on your sideboard. It will get rock hard like the kind you buy at those fancy cafes after awhile...but biscotti is made for dipping so who cares if its hard?
Biscotti does not have to be sweet either and dipped in coffee. You can make rosemary-thyme biscotti to dip in chicken soup, basil-fennel biscotti to serve with pasta and red sauce, ginger-chinese5spice biscotti to eat with asian stirfry..get creative. Biscotti rocks. Try mixing different ingredients and see what happens.
This dough is a basic biscotti dough. After i teach you how to make biscotti dough ill tell you my favourite desserty biscotti that i like to make.
Enjoy!
These will not look perfect! Each will be slightly different, some in undoubtedly crumble, but they WILL BE fucking delicious!
And you can do whatever you want to them. You can add whatever extras into the dough, roll them in whatever dips, nuts, candy, etc.
When fresh, biscotti is much softer and cookie like. It can be eaten without the need to soften it in liquid or risk looking like a long-time meth-head. Biscotti lasts for weeks in tupperware on your sideboard. It will get rock hard like the kind you buy at those fancy cafes after awhile...but biscotti is made for dipping so who cares if its hard?
Biscotti does not have to be sweet either and dipped in coffee. You can make rosemary-thyme biscotti to dip in chicken soup, basil-fennel biscotti to serve with pasta and red sauce, ginger-chinese5spice biscotti to eat with asian stirfry..get creative. Biscotti rocks. Try mixing different ingredients and see what happens.
This dough is a basic biscotti dough. After i teach you how to make biscotti dough ill tell you my favourite desserty biscotti that i like to make.
Enjoy!
BASIC ARTISIAN BISCOTTI DOUGH
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teasp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA- baking soda bad)
eggs/egg whites (about 1 and 2 jumbo eggs...this will vary but add as
needed to make dough sticky)
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 teasp almond extract (or whatever flavours you want)
extra ingredients (can be hazelnuts, choc chips, cocoa powder, ginger,
basil, tomato paste, etc...biscotti can be whatever you want it to be)
Mix dry ingredients (except for the "extras") in a large bowl.
Beat eggs and add to mix with rest liquids.
Mix with hands (best way to not overbeat and feel correct consistency of dough.
Dough will be stiff and sticky (should stick to your hands, if it doesn't and feels more like
cookie dough add more eggs. You need the dough to be just sticky enough to get all over
your hands and make a mess but not be runny.)
Add extra ingredients and mix into dough with hands. Dough should remain sticky when done
adding extras (so if adding something dry like cocoa powder you may need to add more
liquids at this point if the dough starts to get to dry).
Make dough into log shape. Grease flat cookie pan with Pam spray.
Put log onto cookie pan (shape dough into log onto pan).
Bake this for 20-30 min at 350F (cook until done in middle and fork comes out clean).
Take out of oven and let cool for a couple min so you can cut it.
Now cut the log into about 1-2" pieces.
Lay the pieces over on the pan
Put back into oven for about another 15-20 min at 350F.
This will help dry the biscotti out ('biscotti' means 'twice baked'). Take out of oven when hard to your desire.
FRESH BISCOTTI IS NOT HARD AS A ROCK!
It is soft enough to eat without dipping but will harden with age. It also lasts for quite a while in a tupperware on your counter.
If you are making traditional desert/breakfast biscotti you can dip the biscotti once it cools a little if you'd like. My favourite biscotti had chopped hazelnuts and semi sweet/dark choc pieces in it and then i melt semi sweet choc chips in a microwave and dip the biscotti in the melted choc and sometimes roll it in finely chopped or powered hazelnut pieces.
(if you have a spice grinder you can put hazelnuts into it and chop it till it basically turns into a fine flour like power. Then after dipping the biscotti in choc you dip it in the hazelnut powder and it is delicious)
You can make biscotti into anything you want. Experiment. Try stuff. Make it delicious. And have fun!
1 cup sugar
1 teasp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA- baking soda bad)
eggs/egg whites (about 1 and 2 jumbo eggs...this will vary but add as
needed to make dough sticky)
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 teasp almond extract (or whatever flavours you want)
extra ingredients (can be hazelnuts, choc chips, cocoa powder, ginger,
basil, tomato paste, etc...biscotti can be whatever you want it to be)
Mix dry ingredients (except for the "extras") in a large bowl.
Beat eggs and add to mix with rest liquids.
Mix with hands (best way to not overbeat and feel correct consistency of dough.
Dough will be stiff and sticky (should stick to your hands, if it doesn't and feels more like
cookie dough add more eggs. You need the dough to be just sticky enough to get all over
your hands and make a mess but not be runny.)
Add extra ingredients and mix into dough with hands. Dough should remain sticky when done
adding extras (so if adding something dry like cocoa powder you may need to add more
liquids at this point if the dough starts to get to dry).
Make dough into log shape. Grease flat cookie pan with Pam spray.
Put log onto cookie pan (shape dough into log onto pan).
Bake this for 20-30 min at 350F (cook until done in middle and fork comes out clean).
Take out of oven and let cool for a couple min so you can cut it.
Now cut the log into about 1-2" pieces.
Lay the pieces over on the pan
Put back into oven for about another 15-20 min at 350F.
This will help dry the biscotti out ('biscotti' means 'twice baked'). Take out of oven when hard to your desire.
FRESH BISCOTTI IS NOT HARD AS A ROCK!
It is soft enough to eat without dipping but will harden with age. It also lasts for quite a while in a tupperware on your counter.
If you are making traditional desert/breakfast biscotti you can dip the biscotti once it cools a little if you'd like. My favourite biscotti had chopped hazelnuts and semi sweet/dark choc pieces in it and then i melt semi sweet choc chips in a microwave and dip the biscotti in the melted choc and sometimes roll it in finely chopped or powered hazelnut pieces.
(if you have a spice grinder you can put hazelnuts into it and chop it till it basically turns into a fine flour like power. Then after dipping the biscotti in choc you dip it in the hazelnut powder and it is delicious)
You can make biscotti into anything you want. Experiment. Try stuff. Make it delicious. And have fun!
Photo used under Creative Commons from Frank_BB
