Biscotti

No food blog would be complete without some sort of Proustian madeleine. Since most madeleines leave so much to be desired, I have never understood the magic of these cookies.

I remember when I was a little child gnawing on what I thought was biscotti. I mentioned this to my mom a few times over the past few years and she just laughed. Biscotti only recently has been available so mass-market that you would give it to a kid. But two years ago I mentioned it again, but this time Dad chimed in that Emma, his boss' Italian wife used to bring me biscotti for teething.

Emma passed away several years ago, but I tracked down her daughter who "found the recipe in the old red and white tin recipe box [she] inherited from her mother. She never used a recipe herself, but she must have written it down at some point so she could share it."

Emma Bonica's Biscotti

5 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp anise seed
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shortening (vegetable oil or melted butter)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (toasted almonds are best)

1. Sift together
the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a flat surface (a counter or large cutting board).
2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; it should look like a wide volcano crater.
3. Break the three eggs into the crater.

4. Using a table fork, beat the eggs to combine whites and yolks, then gradually add sugar, vanilla, milk, and shortening. Blend liquid ingredients thoroughly in the center of the flour crater.
5. Using the fork, gradually gather in small amounts of the flour from the inside perimeter of the crater, blending each forkful into the liquid center. The trick is to avoid breaking the flour barrier and having the liquid center flow outward onto the counter and floor.

6. As the center becomes more and more solid with the addition of the flour, begin kneading the dough with your hands. It will be sticky at first, but keep adding flour gradually.
7. Knead in chopped almonds.
When dough is still soft, but no longer sticky, form it into flat rectangular loaves 1/2 inch thick, 6 inches wide and 8-10 inches long.
8. Bake loaves for 10 minutes on cookie sheets.
9. Remove loaves from oven, cool slightly, and slice into 3/4 inch widths.
10. Lay slices on their sides and replace in oven to toast until golden; turn slices over and toast other sides.
11. Cool on racks.

* You can also mix dough in a bowl.

Below is my revised version. They are crunchy and hard, definitely meant for dipping. Still sometimes I'll chew on one, completely destroying any benefits of wearing that expensive night guard, and pushing me ever so closer to veneers.

AJ's Biscotti (adapted from Emma Bonica)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated lemon zest (one lemon’s worth)
2 teaspoons anise seed
1/4 chopped nuts (hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place the oven rack in the middle.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a flat surface (a counter or large cutting board). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; it should look like a wide volcano crater.
3. Break the three eggs into the crater. Using a table fork, beat the eggs to combine whites and yolks, then gradually add sugar, vanilla, zest and anise. Blend liquid ingredients thoroughly in the center of the flour crater.
4. Using the fork, gradually gather in small amounts of the flour from the inside perimeter of the crater, blending each forkful into the liquid center. The trick is to avoid breaking the flour barrier and having the liquid center flow outward onto the counter and floor. As the center becomes more and more solid with the addition of the flour, begin kneading the dough with your hands. It will be sticky at first, but keep adding flour gradually. Knead in chopped almonds.
5. When dough is still soft, but no longer sticky, form it into 2 flat rectangular loaves 1/2 inch thick, 3 inches wide and 8-10 inches long.
6. Bake loaf for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet spread with parchment paper, rotating pan once, until golden.
7. Remove loaves from oven, cool slightly, and slice into 3/8 inch widths diagonally with a serrated knife.
8. Lay slices on their sides and replace in a 325 degrees oven to toast until golden; turn slices over and toast other sides (about 11 minutes per side).
9. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on racks before storing in an airtight container.

Since this version contains no butter or shortening, it will keep for up to a month. If you add butter, say a half stick, the biscotti will be richer, less crunchy, and more edible as a regular cookie. They will also only last a week or so before the flavor begins to go off.