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| Helping to mix the biscotti batter |
In our house these twice-baked biscuits, otherwise known as 'biscotti', are a real hit. I've been meaning to get this recipe to a friend FOREVER and thought I'd send it to her via a post. Sorry for the delay Em but here it is.
My mother-in-law gave me this recipe years back and I've enjoyed baking them ever since. When we lived on the island, I loved watching her make bucket-loads of biscotti (and I mean BUCKET-LOADS!) to be consumed at the restaurant and family home and now I make them for my own family, though in slightly smaller quantities! The restaurant is no longer there but the food is living on in my kitchen, though it's certainly not as tasty as that created by D's Mum. That might sound like a 'crawling' daughter-in-law thing to say but I can assure you it's true.
And note to self - next time use ouzo and not D's moonshine from Burma! Thankfully the biscotti turned out well just the same.
Twice-Baked Biscuits (originally 'Cookies' of course!)
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
4 tablespoons aniseed
4 tablespoons anisette or other anise-flavoured liqueur (ouzo works best)
3 tablespoons whiskey (or 2 tablespoons vanilla essence (the real stuff) and 2 tablespoons of water)
2 cups almonds, coarsely chopped
6 eggs
5 1/2 cups plain flour (unsifted)
1 tablespoon baking powder
Mix sugar with butter, anise seed, liqueur, whisky and nuts, Beat in eggs, Mix flour with baking powder and stir into the sugar mixture. Blend well, cover and chill for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours (I've been known to leave it over night). Shape dough to form flat loaves about 1/2 an inch thick and 2 inches wide and as long as your baking sheet. Generally, it's best to place no more than 2 loaves on the baking tray as the biscotti expands. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until you can touch (and not get burnt!) then cut into diagonal slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Lay slices on their sides, close together on baking sheet and return to the oven (180 degrees again) for 15 minutes or until toasted.
You can make all kinds of subsitutes to create a biscotti of your choice. My favourites have been hazlenut and chocolate, cranberry, plain (minus the aniseed flavourings) and pistacchio. Yummo. It also freezes well which is great if you're inclined to make BUCKET-LOADS of biscotti like my mother-in-law! She also introduced me to the concept of a 'biscotti breakfast'. You see, as a product of slicing the biscotti after that initial bake, you'll have crumbs containing lots of crunchy goodness which are very tasty with yogurt in the morning. Perhaps not the healthiest of breakfast accompaniments but scrumptious all the same.
