Rebecca and one of her best friends, Kristyn, had a holiday cookie baking day at Rebecca's house a few years ago. They jointly made several cookie recipes, then shared their bounty and had many varieties to take to various parties and enjoy all season long! It was Rebecca's first time making biscotti, and now biscotti is a holiday baking must-have in her kitchen! Pro tip: order pizza for dinner to keep things simple after a busy day of baking, and have the husbands do the dishes!
| Servings: About 20 pieces |
Prep: 30 minutes
|
Cook: 40 minutes |
Ingredients
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean past, or sub vanilla extract if you don’t have paste
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter room temp (6 oz. or 12 tbsp.)
- 1 cup pecans toasted and chopped
- 4 ounces chocolate melted, for drizzle (if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Lay pecans on a sheet pan in a single layer and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. Remove and set aside to cool before chopping.
- Put butter in a small sauce pot and melt over medium heat. Continue cooking for 5 or 6 minutes until it is foamy and starts to deepen in color to a light brown. You will smell it’s deliciousness. That’s your cue. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Do not cook butter past light brown, it burns very quickly.
- In a medium bowl: combine flour, salt and baking powder
- In a separate bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer): Combine browned butter and brown sugar, then add eggs, one at a time.
- Add vanilla bean paste. Continue mixing for 4 – 5 minutes, then add dry ingredients. Mix until barely combined, then add pecans and mix until nuts are incorporated. (You may not get them all in, that’s ok. You will do it when forming the logs.)
- On a parchment lined sheet pan, form 2 loaves (or logs) of dough roughly 3" wide by 3/4" thick.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Slice logs into approximately 1/2" slices and lay them on their sides.
- Reduce heat to 300F and bake for an additional 18 – 20 minutes.
- Cool completely before drizzling with melted chocolate (if desired).
Rebecca's Notes
- Watch the width of your logs - too wide will make for a very long piece of biscotti! Keeping the logs fat in width, so that your piece of biscotti once cut is 3-4 inches long, is the way to go. You'll get more pieces this way, too!
- You can do so many variations on this recipe - swap pecans for almonds or walnuts, add a dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, sub for any type of chocolate, or skip entirely! It will be great with any variation.
- Don't be tempted to overbake, especially on the first bake in log form - yes, crispy biscotti is the norm. But I prefer more of a "toothsome" texture, where there is still a little chew and softness.
- Biscotti, of course, is best enjoyed alongside coffee - I swear, it enhances the flavor!
- Recipe courtesy of Pook's Pantry