CookEat Recipe
Crunchy Almond and Anise Biscotti
Twice-baked biscuits with whole almonds, a few pine nuts and a little anise, sliced from four lightly baked loaves.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 500 g plain flour, plus about 10 g for the tray; 220 g caster sugar; 110 g blanched whole sweet almonds; 10 g pine nuts; 35 g butter: 30 g for the dough and 5 g for the tray; 5 eggs: 4 for the dough, with the fifth divided between adjustment and glazing; ½ teaspoon anise seeds, a working measure for a pinch; A generous pinch of salt.
Step 2
Mix the measured 500 g flour with the sugar, 30 g softened butter, anise and salt. Work in four eggs to make a fairly soft dough. Beat the fifth egg separately and reserve 2 teaspoons for the glaze; add the rest only a little at a time if the dough needs softening. The full amount may not be needed. Mix in the whole almonds and pine nuts last.
Step 3
Grease a baking tray with the remaining 5 g butter and dust with the extra flour. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and form four flattened loaves roughly 1½–2 cm thick and 6–7 cm wide, leaving space between them. Brush lightly with the reserved beaten egg. Use a second prepared tray if necessary rather than crowding the loaves.
Step 4
Bake at 175°C for about 25–35 minutes, until lightly golden and set through, with no raw dough in the middle. The first bake should cook the loaves completely while leaving them soft enough to slice; it is not a partial raw-dough bake. Let cool on a rack. Once cool, cover and refrigerate within two hours if keeping them until the next day. Overnight resting softens the crust for slicing.
Step 5
The next day, cut across the loaves with a sharp serrated knife into slices about 1–1½ cm thick. Lay flat on clean baking trays and toast at 150°C for about 10–15 minutes on each side, until only lightly coloured and dry and crisp. Cool completely on a rack before putting in an airtight container. Yield is about 40 biscuits; the overnight rest is included in the stated time.
Step 6
For same-day baking, let the fully baked loaves cool enough to slice cleanly, then slice and give them the same light second bake on both sides. Allow about 2–2½ hours overall instead of the overnight schedule.
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