Biscottis for a Party

Mr. T is notorious for throwing himself a surprise party each year for his birthday. He does all the cooking and all the inviting so when it came time to decide what dishes I wanted to bring, I needed an ok prior to the party. No surprises here! Fortunately for me Mr. T. was down with my smoked salmon potato cakes and homemade biscottis. But surprise! This post isn't about potato cakes, its about the creamy, crunchy, confection that is the biscotti.

This batch was my first attempt at this Italian favorite, so I turned to the trusty Internet for some guidance. Allrecipes.com is always a first-stop for me when searching for recipes and lucky for me I found Laria Tabul's Anise Biscotti. I know biscottis can take on a bazillion flavor profiles, but since this was my first time going into that dark night I stuck to the anise and almond flavors. Allrecipes.com is also super helpful because of the recipe reviews. Others that have come before you really take the time on that site to review how the recipe went for them as well as what changes they made for better or for worse. I found the reviews for this recipe is what made my biscottis such a hit at the party. Below, follow the recipe (along with my changes in blue) and photos of my progress.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brandy - substituted 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract - used 2 tsp. of anise an 1 tsp of almon d extract.
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup almonds - uped this to 2 1/2 cups
• 2 tablespoons anise seed - doubled this. wish I did more.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a ti me, beating well after each addition. Combine brandy, anise extract and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Alternately add dry ingredients and brandy mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the almonds and aniseed. Change: I ground the almonds up in a food processor and added the almonds to the dry ingredients.

   

   

   Above-All 3 parts of dough mixed together alternately.
   

3. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto prepared sheet, forming two 2 x 13-inch long strips on each sheet. Smooth dough into logs with moistened fingertips.

   

   

   Above-My dough loaves.
   

4. Bake about30 to 35 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Place cookie sheets on racks and cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

   

5. Cut cooled logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Place slices on cookie sheets.

   

   

6. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, until dry and slightly brown. Remove to a rack and cool.

   

   

   Above-The finished product!