This month's Cookie Carnival recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. Once again, biscotti is a new venture for me. In fact, every single recipe I've made along with the other bakers in the Cookie Carnival has been a new recipe. Not bad. It has definately allowed me to expand my horizons which I am enjoying!
The recipe can be found here on the food network website. Giada even has the recipe linked to a video which I did actually watch. Having never made biscotti before I wanted to make sure I wanted to make sure that I followed the recipe PRECISELY. When it says to beat the egg and sugar together for about 3 minutes, I set my running watch for three minutes and stopped at the beep :-) I actually made only 1/3 of the recipe for a couple of reasons: 1) I've been baking quite a lot lately and did not want a whole bunch of sweets sitting around for awhile, 2) I wasn't sure if I would like it. In reference to the second one, I am a self-proclaimed chewy cookie fanatic, so I wasn't really sure what I would think of the crunch in biscotti.
As far as making the recipe, everything went really smoothly! I used my stoneware pans since I don't own a silpat mat. The biscotti stuck to the pan a little bit when I went to slice it after the 1st bake, but it came off just fine when I slid a metal spatula underneath.
In the video, Giada says that you could use either white chocolate or milk chocolate in place of the semisweet chocolate that she uses to dip the biscotti. I had a few extra white chocolate chips from a different recipe, so I decided that I would try both because I am not the biggest chocolate fanatic (GASP!) As far as the verdict, I enjoy these as a change up from the usual cookie, but I think my husband liked them more. The 1/3 of a recipe only made about 10 biscotti, and my husband is already requesting more! In both of our opinions, the white chocolate-dipped ones were better, so I think I would do it all that way next time.
Chocolate Citrus Biscotti- Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
2 c. all-purpose flour3/4 c. fine yellow cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1-3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips (can use milk chocolate or white chocolate)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in another large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange and lemon zests to the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the eggs and sugar and beat until just blended (the dough will be soft and sticky). Let stand for 5 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, forming two mounds spaced evenly apart. Moisten your hands with water and shape the dough into two 11x4-inch logs. Bake until lightly brown, about 35 minutes. Cool the logs for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the same baking sheet. Bake until the biscotti are pale and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool the biscotti on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Using a medal spatula, transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, about 1-1/2 minutes total. Dip 1 cut side of each biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. REfrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for 4 days or frozen in foil and resealable plastic bags for up to 3 weeks.
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