Almond Biscotti From Smitten Kitchen

‘Tis the season of baking! This weekend, I decided to bake biscotti and pair it with little coffee packages as gifts for my coworkers. Unfortunately, my go-to cooking mentor Barefoot Contessa doesn’t have a biscotti recipe
So in this instance, I turned to the trusted cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen. Run by Deb, a true foodie, it’s been a favorite of mine for some time but for some strange reason, I’ve never baked any of the recipes! What gives? Looking at pictures of food and dreaming about them is no good. So, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to give Smitten Kitchen a long-overdue try.
The recipe? Toasted almond biscotti. The result? Delicious. They were very easy to make, crisp (without being really hard), and perfect for dunking. I decided to dip mine in chocolate because really, everything is better with a little chocolate. The only surprise with this recipe is how prominent the orange flavor is. It’s not a bad thing (very complimentary to the vanilla and almond). However, it’s more than just an undertone and I think that’s something that’s worth mentioning. Maybe the oranges I bought were just superstar, really strong ones… Overall, highly recommended. (Lots of people at work told me they loved them!)
Almond Biscotti From Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 1999
They’re supposed to make 3 dozen, but my batch yielded at least 45
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or orange liqueur
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup whole almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped or sliced almonds
1 large egg white
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, orange liqueur and zest in large bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Mix in almonds.
Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into 13 1/2-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing apart. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over top and sides of each dough log.
Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 30 minutes. Cool logs completely on sheet on rack, about 25 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Transfer logs to work surface; discard parchment paper. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until just beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
Special thanks to my brother Dan who is helping me with photos while Brian is out of town!
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Michelle, no matter how many times I read Smitten Kitchen (at least once a day), I still find it hard to believe that Deb can bake so much goodness in such a small kitchen! Of course, having the overhead pot rack helps!
I love biscotti but I don’t know about all this almond business. Nuts are for the squirrels. Merry Christmas.
I concur, Brian. I’m not a big fan of almonds. I do enjoy them slices, but that is about it!
I’ll take almond over orange any time! They look beautiful.