Marie Saba

From My Kitchen To Yours

Biscotti is my favorite cookie to make around the holidays. The recipe is so easy, and the lightly-sweet cookies are perfect for gifting to neighbors and friends.

The one challenge to biscotti is working with the dough because it is very sticky … but here’s the simple solution: Just wet your hands with water before handling it. The other thing to know about biscotti is that you bake it twice — first as two long (approx. 5 inches x 8 inches) rectangles, and then a second time after slicing into the individual pieces. The second baking is what gives biscotti is trademark crunch.

Don’t worry, though, this biscotti won’t break a tooth! I remember trying biscotti for the first time when I was in fourth or fifth grade at a Christmas party with my parents. My best friend and I took a bite (or tried anyway) and then ran off to find a trash. We couldn’t believe a cookie could be so hard 😉

These biscotti are filled with vanilla and almond flavors, and have a tender bite. For serving, try dipping them in a cold glass of milk or eggnog, or hot cup of jo!

Holiday Biscotti

Ingredients

¼ cup light olive oil
¾ cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chopped pecans

For optional decorating:

Chocolate chips
White chocolate chips
Holiday sprinkles (Red, Green and White; Blue, White and Silver; Silver, Gold, Black and White)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a smaller bowl, whisk together oil, extract and eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine. Mix in pecans (dough will be very thick).
Using wet hands (dough will be sticky!), separate dough into two piles on the lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Using wet hands, spread each pile into a rectangle (about 5 inches wide, 8 inches long and ½ inch tall). Bake for 35 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven. Cool for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to 200°. Transfer one rectangle to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 1-inch slices (so each biscotti is about 1-inch wide by 5 inches long and ½ inch tall). Lay biscotti on their sides on the baking sheet. Repeat with second rectangle.
Bake biscotti for about 30 minutes or until hard. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.
Optional Decoration: Coat half of each biscotti with melted chocolate. While chocolate is warm, decorate with seasonal sprinkles on the top and sides.

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