I always say: “When you meet perfection, don’t mess with it”. That’s why my favorite Almond Biscotti recipe has been unchanged for many years. No experimenting. I have baked countless batches with no or very little variation and shared them with family and friends. When I’m having an Espresso or Cappuccino, Biscotti are my go-to-snack.
These days, our eating habits have changed. Looking at the recipe with fresh eyes, I’m wondering: do I really need all that sugar? Or is there room for improvement? So, I started experimenting. Here is my Gen II Almond Biscotti recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 350g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
100g granulated sugar- 150g organic brown sugar
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 100g organic extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Spread almonds on a baking sheet and roast for 15 min.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
- When almonds are toasted, spread them out on a cutting board and let them cool off for at least 10 min. Chop them coarsly.
- Add the almonds to the egg mixture and combine.
- Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until just incorporated. Do not over-mix!
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a large serving spoon, scoop out the dough and place on the baking sheet. Keep adding to the dough until you have formed 2 logs.
- Bake for 30 min.
- Remove from the oven and let cool down for 10 min.
- Remove from baking sheet and transfer to a cutting board.
- Slice the logs in 3/4” slices at an angle and place the slices on the baking sheet.
- Bake for another 15-20 min. Turn them over at the half-way mark
Notes
I can’t stress enough the importance of using coarse salt. A fine salt will just be evenly distributed and “disappear” from the flavor profile. Coarse salt, on the other hand, “hits” you every once in a while as you eat the biscotti, just like a fine chocolate with coarse sea salt.
You may have to experiment with how densly you form the logs in order to achieve the correct consistency of the biscotti.
Leave a Reply