Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti


The plan for this week's post was to make traditional Italian biscotti, but after finding that I had no anise flavoring, I decided to make chocolate biscotti and make the traditional one another time. 

I always thought that the best chocolate biscotti I ever had was the one from Meredith's Bread at the NY farmers' markets, but while their biscotti is still fantastic, I really do think this Amy's Bread recipe beats it.

The recipe Is actually chocolate and hazelnut, and I know I have a habit of replacing hazelnuts in a lot of things. It's not that I hate them, I'm just not a huge fan of them and would always prefer walnuts or almonds, especially in biscotti. 

I'm just going to go ahead and say that I think it's pretty much impossible to get a better chocolate biscotti than this. I'm amazed at the perfection of this recipe.

These indulgent biscotti have just the right amount of sweetness and are beautifully studded with bits of chocolate and nuts. They would be a perfect accompaniment to the end of a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal with coffee as they are not overwhelmingly rich but hit the spot when in need of something sweet and chocolatey.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti: (makes 24)
Adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. (Recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti)

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (use a really good one)
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 3/4 cups hazelnuts, toasted (I substituted these for Walnuts)
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 large egg for egg wash

Pre-heat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk.

Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fluffy and pale (1 min).

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Fold this in to combine.

Then fold in the toasted nuts and chocolate chips.

Divide the dough in half and turn each one out onto a floured surface and roll each half into a log and patting down slightly to form the dough to approximately 2 inches wide by 14 inches long by 1 1/2 inches high.

Place each log on to the prepared baking sheet several inches apart.

In a small bowl mix an egg and then brush the egg wash lightly over the top of the logs.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 27 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through.

Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 300F.

Allow the logs to cool for about 20 minutes before slicing them at an angle to about 3/4-inch-thick pieces.

Lay each slice back on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between each.

Bake them at 300F for 5 minutes and then flip each biscotti piece over and bake on the other side for 5 minutes again.

Remove them from the oven and allow to cool fully.





24 comments:

  1. Oh, with the coffee, cinnamon & chocolate...I'll bet those are SO good!!!

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  2. Yum Yum Yum! I adore biscotti but haven't found a good chocolate biscotti recipe yet. I must make these! They are perfect!

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  3. These look great with a hot drink. A perfect fall snack!

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  4. ooh ..I love biscotti. Yours look fantastic. Will definitely try it out.

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  5. I've never had biscotti!! I've been meaning to try it out! A chocolate biscotti sounds nice.

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  6. I have never had the guts to try to make biscotti. yours looks delicious and chocolaty!

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  7. That looks just delicious!

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  8. Oh dear, I can see that these little beauties spell trouble. Need some bite size nibbles, as I'd have zero self control.

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  9. Great treat for anytime of the day.

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  10. I have hardly ever looked ay biscotti and thought'yummy', this is the first time I have actually drooled over biscotti - well done

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  11. So gorgeous and delicious. Love the color and the flavor. This is so great with coffee.

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  12. I like choco waaaay better than anise. so glad you made them this way.

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  13. I just adore it and with chocolate is better ;-) Lovely photos

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  14. Your biscotti are so lovely and dark! And the coffee would help deepen the flavor. Yum!

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  15. I'm always on the lookout for a really dark, really good chocolate biscotti. I think I found it.

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  16. Yummm. How good does that look? I love biscotti.

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  17. I've never made Biscotti - I would love these with pecans, in place of the walnuts...and maybe have a caramel dip to serve :-)

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  18. oh wow fantastic love the tea cup with it !

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  19. This looks lovely. Just lovely. I would love it with a cup of hot chocolate. Mmmmm.

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  20. I've never made biscotti but this combo makes me want to try. Yum!

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  21. I just made these & they turned out lovely, super yummy. I may need to bake another batch as a gift for a friend at Christmas. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. I made these this afternoon and they're outstanding! Thanks so much.

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  23. This might be overkill, but I'm thinking about trying this, and then using dipping chocolate to coat one side. :) That would be chocolate heaven!

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  24. Just made these and they turned out great! At first I thought the dough was rather sticky and was convinced I had gone wrong somewhere, but in the end, they turned out perfectly! Thank you for sharing.

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