Here we have maybe the best thing I've ever made. At least the best baked good I've ever made. I've even managed to convert Megan and Eric to biscotti-lovers.
I know people are offput by how dangerously hard biscotti often is. I always liked it, but that's because I'm a dunker--cookies, doughtnuts, biscotti. This recipe, however, was perfect. Crunchy but not a tooth-breaker. The almonds added another layer of texture, and you could just barely detect a hint of the amaretto liqueur that I added. The recipe was taken from January's Gourmet. I only changed one thing--I replaced the brandy with amaretto because that's what I had and, hello, amaretto. When I worked at Crane Coffee, my favorite drink was an amaretto latte.
Amaretto Biscotti:
1 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped (I used my food processor, see the above photo to see the size of the almonds pieces)
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspooon salt
To toast almonds, heat oven or toaster oven to 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes. Shuffle the almonds around once or twice. Let them cool for a minute or two before you chop them. Leave oven at 350.In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, liqueur and extracts. Stir in eggs and almonds. I mixed manually here. Biscotti more like bread than like cookies or cakes, so you don't really want to overwork the batter/dough with an electric mixer. It's OK if you're consistency is a bit lumpy. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Divide the dough in half and arrange into to 3"x15" loaves on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes until golden. Remove and let cool. Slice loaves into 1-inch pieces and place back on baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 20-25 minutes until biscotti are lightly toasted.
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