Cappuccino Biscotti

I love biscotti.  And now that I’ve found out how easy it is to make, I am on the quest to find the perfect biscotti recipe.

The recipe that started it all was a Cappuccino Biscotti recipe that I found on squirrel bread.  I have always loved biscotti, but had shied away from making my own because I thought it would be too difficult.  When I read this recipe though it seemed easy.  Plus I had all the ingredients, so why not give it a go?

Cappuccino Biscotti

Adapted from squirrel bread

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

2/3 cup packed Light Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Cloves

1/4 cup Espresso or strong Coffee, cooled

1 tablespoon Milk

1 large Egg

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 to 1/2 cup whole Almonds

**NOTES: I used ground Cloves instead of fresh, a cup of strong Instant Coffee, and sliced Almonds instead of whole Almonds.**

In a small bowl WHISK together the espresso (or coffee), milk, egg, and vanilla.  SET aside.

Use electric or hand mixer to MIX together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves until combined.

Gradually ADD the espresso mixture and BEAT until a dough forms.  COVER the bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm up the dough.

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and PLACE rack in center of the oven.  LINE a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (I used a Silpat, well a generic version from Bed Bath and Beyond).

With floured hands, DIVIDE the chilled dough in half.  On a lightly floured surface (I used another Silpat on my counter) ROLL each half of dough into a log about 10 inches long by 2 inches wide.

DOT the top of your logs with the almonds, pushing down gently.  TRANSFER logs to the lined baking sheet, spacing logs about 3 inches apart (to allow for expanding/spreading while baking).

BAKE 20 minutes, or until golden brown and almost firm.  REMOVE from the oven and let the logs COOL on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

REDUCE the oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

MOVE the logs onto a cutting board and CUT logs crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4 inch slices, with a serated knife.

ARRANGE the biscotti on their sides on the baking sheet and BAKE for about 12 minutes, or until very firm and beginning to brown

**NOTE: REDUCE this cooking time by 4 or 5 minutes if you don’t like your biscotti super crunchy.**

REMOVE from the oven and TRANSFER the biscotti to a rack to COOL completely.  STORE in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week (or frozen up to 2 weeks).

Things I liked about this recipe:

• Easy recipe and simple to follow.
• Basic ingredients that I tend to have around the house.
• Espresso.
• Almonds.

Things I didn’t like about this recipe:

• The cloves overpowered the espresso taste in my opinion, so the biscotti tasted a bit more like ginger snaps than cappuccino.

What I’d change if I made them again:

• I’d omit the cloves and maybe sprinkle in a 1/2 teaspoon of Instant Coffee granules instead.
• Maybe a little additional Vanilla Extract too.
• My almond pieces fell off easily, so I might mix in a little extra into the dough.
• I’d cut my biscotti pieces a little thinner.  I think they were a little chunkier than I’d prefer.
• Since they were pretty crunchy, I’d reduce the second bake time to more like 6 minutes.

So, because I love me some biscotti, and they are pretty easy to make, I am now on a little quest to find the perfect biscotti.  Well, the perfect biscotti for me and my taste buds at least.

Next up I think I’m going to try an almond biscotti…or maybe a chocolate…or maybe a chocolate hazelnut…or maybe something with Nutella.  Decisions decisions.

Credit: squirrel bread, Silpat, Bed Bath and Beyond, Nutella, coffee cup by Bailey’s, and all photos taken by me.