Chunky Triple Nut and Chocolate Biscotti

Despite seeing countless variations of biscotti featured on Everyday Italian, I was never inspired to make any myself until recently. The problem is that anytime I think of biscotti, I think of the rock hard, tasteless stuff that shows up in places like Starbucks. However, I finally decided to try it out the other day after I saw Gina DePalma, a pastry chef from Babbo, do a demo of the Mosaic Biscotti recipe from her new book.

I loved listening to Gina tell her story. She seemed very genuine, talking about herself and her career openly and with a sense of humor. She is obviously passionate about food, and her approach to cooking emphasizes tradition, attention to detail, and quality ingredients.

One thing I thought was interesting is that she stressed the importance of whisking together the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients. When I bake I'm always tempted to skip this step because I'm never sure how necessary it is, so it was nice to hear an opinion on that from someone as experienced as her.

Gina talked about how she got into the food business and how she started culinary school intending to become a chef, falling into the pastry side of things when she did an internship and found that she really enjoyed it. She said that she thinks this background helps her as a pastry chef since it's important to understand the savory aspects of a menu to do the dessert part well. I think that makes a lot of sense, and I would imagine that this might help her to be more creative with flavor combinations in her desserts.

As a slight tangent, could someone please explain why there is such a rigid division between being a pastry chef and a chef? If you watch shows like Top Chef, you'll know what I mean - the downfall of several of the very talented chefs on that show has been a dessert that they threw together with the disclaimer "I am not a pastry chef". It seems like a well rounded chef ought to be able to do both, so it doesn't really make sense to me that there is such a separation between the two specialties.

Anyway, back to biscotti. I followed Gina's biscotti recipe exactly, except I changed the types of nuts in the biscotti and used three different kinds of nuts instead of two. The quantity of nuts and chocolate in this biscotti astounded me. When you get the dough mixed together, there's very little dough to actually hold all of the filler together. I think that's what makes it so good - the result is chunky, chocolaty, and packed with nuts.

Biscotti is actually just one big cookie, baked in a long log and then cut into slices and baked again. It's actually easier than making regular cookies in a way, since you don't have to portion the dough for each cookie. Another great thing about biscotti is that it keeps for a long time. These should be good for at least 2 weeks.

Chunky Triple Nut and Chocolate Biscotti
based on Mosaic Biscotti from Dolce Italiano

For the biscotti:
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk, reserve the egg white for the glaze
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped, whatever type you prefer, I used 4 ounces of bittersweet and 2 ounces of semi-sweet
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the glaze:
1 egg white, reserved from above
3/4 Tbsp sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir so that the salt and baking powder are evenly distributed.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed for several minutes, until well combined. Change the speed of the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients gradually, allowing each portion to incorporate before adding more.

Add the chocolate and nuts and stir in by hand. Place the dough onto a cookie sheet that is lined with a silpat or greased. Form a long log that runs the length of the cookie sheet, about 4 inches wide and 1-2 inches high. The dough will be pretty sticky, so you might want to flour your hands before forming the logs to make it easier, and prepare to get messy.

Lightly beat the reserved egg white to break it up a little (Gina says you just want to break up the protein a bit) and brush the top of the log with it. Then sprinkle granulated sugar on top.

Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown and firm to the touch.

Wait for it to cool completely, about an hour. Then use a serrated knife to cut into slices, on a slight diagonal, to form individual cookies. I like the slices to be about 1/2 inch wide, but you can personalize this to whatever you like.

Put the slices back on the baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees until the biscotti dries out a bit and is a little crisp to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Rich Rolled Cinnamon Cookies

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Eid, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Traditionally, Muslims go to the mosque for a quick prayer in the morning and celebrate afterwards by eating with family and friends.

This year I made these cut out cookies for Eid, following a recipe that we used often when I was growing up. These cookies are thin and rich, but not too sweet, with a hint of cinnamon. There is something about their simplicity that makes them addictive.

I have so many childhood memories attached to these cookies. As kids, we painstakingly cut them out and decorated them, carefully adding details like a nose and eyes, as if they wouldn't be eaten hot out of the oven in 10 minutes. These days, I just use decorative sugar to add some color to the cookies.

The key to getting these cookies right is rolling the dough out to the right thickness. Too thin and they will be crisp and hard. Too thick and the cookies will not cook through. If you aren't sure that you have the right thickness, you can always try a few out before making a full batch.

I prefer to use plastic cookie cutters whenever possible, since I find them to be more durable and easier to maintain than the metal ones. Also, I've found that the cookie cutter shape actually makes a difference in the finished product. Choose a larger shape with fewer thin, sharp projections and it will result in a cookie that has a more even texture.

These cookies are perfect for any holiday and are especially fun for kids to decorate. Hope you enjoy!


Here is the recipe, adapted from Joy of Cooking:

Rich Rolled Cinnamon Cookies
(makes about 40 medium sized cookies)

For the cookie dough:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

For making the cookies:
cookie cutters
rolling pin
decorative sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for several minutes until the butter lightens in color and becomes fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

Sift together the flour, salt, and cinnamon, or mix so the cinnamon is evenly spread throughout the flour. On low speed, add the dry ingredients gradually, mixing until just incorporated.

The dough should be rather thick at this point. Divide into two pieces, form them into flat balls, and cover them with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, until hard. If you don't chill it long enough, it will be sticky and the cookies will be difficult to cut out.

Place a piece of chilled dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Use your cookie cutters to cut as many cookies as you can from the dough, and then place each one on your cookie sheet. You should try to work rather quickly to cut them out, as the dough will become more difficult to work with as it warms up. Gather the remaining dough scraps, roll them into a ball, and return them to the fridge to keep chilled. Once the cookies are on the sheet, you can take your time to decorate them.

Alternate to the other dough piece still in the fridge, and repeat this process until you finish all the dough.

Bake for 6-9 minutes, until the cookie feels firm when you push on the top. If you can see visible brown spots around the side, you've taken it too far and may need to adjust the thickness of the dough or the cooking time.