Episode 04: Almond Biscotti with Dark Chocolate and Orange

Taylor’s grandma, Ann, was famous for a lot of cookies, but biscotti was by far her best. If you want to be an absolute Italian ICON, bake these cookies like yesterday.

INGREDIENTS:

150g Whole eggs, whisked

275g Fine granulated sugar

7g Kosher salt

4g Vanilla extract

2g Orange zest (plus more for topping at the end)

425g Pastry flour (you can use AP, but pastry is best here)

10g Baking powder

150g Almonds, roughly chopped

|| Chocolate Glaze ||

10 oz chocolate

1 tbsp coconut oil

**Use Maldon sea salt and extra orange zest for topping**

METHOD: 

Preheat the oven to 325F and line a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper.

Make a double boiler on the stover using a pot of water and a large bowl. Let the water come to a light boil (the steam will heat the bowl). In the bowl, place the eggs and sugar. Whisk until it feels “snotty” and the sugar dissolves.

Pour the egg/sugar mixture into the standing mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip at med-high speed (careful not to spill!) until the volume almost doubles. You should be able to draw “ribbons” on top of the batter. Switch to a paddle attachment, add the vanilla and orange zest in. Mix at low speed for about a minute or two.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. In increments, add in the flour little by little until well incorporated. You can also sift right into the mixer (like we did in the video).

Toss in the almonds or fold in by hand until evenly distributed in the dough.

Split the dough in half to shape into two logs on the baking pan. Measuring the dough once its split helps with baking each one uniformly. Leave space between the logs, about 3ish inches.

—At this time you could add an egg wash (egg beaten + a little water) to give the crust a shiny and brown look. We chose not to because we’re dipping it in dark chocolate anyway. —

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until light golden brown. We pulled ours out at 35 min.

Once baked, let the logs cool then slice diagonally on a bias, about a 1/2 inch in thickness. Turn the oven down to 275F, and bake again for 30 minutes or until toasted and dry.

While they bake, make the chocolate glaze. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over the double boiler again. Add in the coconut oil and whisk until completely smooth and no chunks remain. Remove from heat, unless it’s freezing this will not solidify. Zest another orange and set it aside next to your sea salt, ready for garnishing.

When the cookies are done and completely cooled, submerge one side into the chocolate mixture and place on a sheet of parchment to set. Once all cookies have chocolate, sprinkle a healthy portion of sea salt and orange zest on top.

You did it!!

Recipe is a Grandma Ann original with light tweaks for maximum chocolate use.