Holiday Time Recipes - Biscotti

One of my favorite recipes during the holidays which seems to be made in many households, including mine is biscotti. Now I am not sure why I only make this during the holidays as it is a treat that can be enjoyed all year long. 

If you are not familiar with this treat, it is a twice baked cookie and the name is derived from an old French word bescoit  passed into the english word of biscuit. Many people like these cookies a bit hard as it is used as a dipping cookie with coffee. The recipe can be modified to shorten the cooking time for a softer cookie. 

Ingredients

You will need:

• 2 C Sugar
• 1 C butter or margarine (melted)
• 1/4 C Anise seeds
• 3 TBLS Whiskey, or 2 TSP vanilla and 2 TBLS water
• 1/4 C anisette or other anise-flavored liqueur
• 6 Eggs
• 5 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 3 TSP baking powder
• 2 C coarsely chopped almonds 

Instructions

• In a large bowl, stir together sugar, butter, anise seeds anisette and whiskey.
• Beat in eggs.
• In another bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; gradually add to sugar mixture, blending thoroughly. Mix in almonds
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. 
• Shape dough with your hands to form a flat loaves about 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches wide directly onto a greased baking sheet.
• Place loaves parallel and 4 inches apart.
• Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. 
• Remove loaves from oven and let cool on baking sheets until you can touch them. Cut diagonally into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices 
• Place close together on cookie sheet, cut sides down and bake in oven for an additional 15 minutes.

If you are going for the softer cookie, you will not need to re bake the additional 15 minutes...but you will have a softer cookie that is more likely to crumble when dipped into your hot coffee!

Enjoy!