Chocolate Almond Biscotti

In some comforting way, biscotti is one of those foods that not only remind me of Christmas, but especially, Christmas with my family. Crunchy and fragrant, biscotti has a way of making me feel loved and closer to home. “Biscotti” means “twice-baked”, but don’t be put off by its Italian name nor its seemingly tedious definition. While baking the dough twice is necessary in making biscotti, I’ve found that biscotti is really one of the most flexible and forgiving recipes one can possibly make. And the dough, oh the dough! It’s just so incredibly easy. Begin by beating eggs and sugar together, until the point where the mixture becomes pale yellow and frothy. Now’s the cue to add in your vanilla extract, then beat a little more. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt and then stir well to combine the ingredients. When you soon get a homogeneous dough, here’s when your creativity knows no limits – you can add nuts, dried fruits, chocolate or whatever suits your fancy; some people even add crushed candy canes! Fold them in until evenly distributed, and there you go!

Ingredients:
¾ cup (about 110g) of blanched whole almonds
(which can be either bought or made by soaking whole almonds in hot water for 15 minutes until the skins can be easily slipped off)
⅔ cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
1¾ cup of all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (about 110g) of chocolate, chopped into small pieces (you can also use chocolate chips)

Ingredients:
Blanch the almonds, if necessary (this will take a while). Chop chocolate into small pieces. Pre-heat oven to 180C. In a dry skillet, toast almond over low heat until they start to brown and turn fragrant. Allow toasted almonds to cool and then chop coarsely. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat eggs and sugar on high speed until thick, pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and beat some more. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until combined. Fold in the chopped almonds and chocolate pieces until evenly distributed. Transfer the biscotti dough onto a well-floured, cool, flat surface, and shape it into a log. Make sure to flour your hands well before shaping as the dough can be quite sticky. Transfer the log of dough onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and then flatten it out a little more to look like a rectangle (for as much as your baking sheet will allow). Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch, then remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce temperature to 165C. Transfer the log to a cutting board and slice into pieces (with thickness of about one large finger). Place biscotti cut side down, on the baking sheet, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, then flip slices over to the other side, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Remove from oven and cool before serving with freshly-brewed tea or coffee.

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