12 Days of Christmas: Day 7

Biscotti is one of those things I've never really had because it usually contains nuts. In fact, the original recipe for this biscotti calls for nuts, but Chelle of Brown Eyed Baker substituted white chocolate - which I happen to think is a fantastic idea! I've been wanting to make these ever since I first saw them on her blog, so I thought they would go great in my holiday gift packages!

I had some trouble with the recipe, as noted below. The dough was so sticky; I thought I had done something wrong. Thankfully, just putting a little cooking spray on my hands made a huge difference, and I say thankfully because these biscotti are AMAZING! They are actually one of my favorite recipes I've made recently (and I've been making a LOT of things!) I love the combination of the bittersweet and white chocolate, and the slight espresso taste - which may not even be noticeable if you don't know it's in there but definitely elevates the chocolate flavor. The only thing I might change next time is to make them larger - they were smaller than the biscotti I've seen in coffee shops and bakeries.

This recipe is really very simple and I'm so glad it turned out so well because there are many more biscotti varieties I would love to try next!

Triple Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder (I used this kind, found in Italian specialty food store)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Working with a stand mixer, preferable fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes; the mixture may be crumbly.

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don't worry if the mixture looks curdled.

6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

7. Mix in the chocolates.

8. Turn the dough onto a work surface. At this point my dough was super sticky - I didn't see how I was going to possibly proceed with the recipe. I sprayed my hands with Crisco spray with flour, and suddenly the dough was very workable!

9. Knead in any dry ingredients that may have escaped mixing. Divide the dough in half. Rather than rolling out the dough in a 12-inch-long log and flattening to 2 inches across and 1/2 to 1 inch high as the original recipe suggests, I put the dough on the silpat and shaped it into 12-inches long, 2-3 inches wide and 1 inch tall. If you feel daring and prefer larger biscotti, try shaping them shorter and wider.

10. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar, and bake about 25 minutes, or until the logs are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack - and that's just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack, and allow the logs to cool for about 20 minutes, leaving oven on.

11. Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2- and 3/4-inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet and bake the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.

12. Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.

Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours