Vanilla Biscotti

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Debarshi Chatterji

As you know I have been experimenting with Biscotti for some time now. I feel that the best way to understand a new recipe is to try it again and again. I continue to improvise the recipe till I feel confident that this is the one I would like to share with everyone. The ingredients below will make only a couple of servings which is perfect when you are trying this for the first time. Hopefully you will like these yummy crunchy biscuits as much as I like baking and sharing them.

So, what is a Biscotti?

Biscotti is an Italian biscuit (or cookie) which is baked twice. So, once the dough is kneaded, it is baked till it gets firm. It is then removed from the oven and cut into oblong shaped pieces. It is then baked again which creates that dry, crunchy texture on them. Just like cookies, biscotti can also be prepared with various ingredients like almonds, cranberries, pistachios, chocolate and even lemon or orange zests and because they are dry you can easily store them for a long period of time. 

Biscotti and Cake rusk:

As I have told you before, there are quite a few items in our Indian bakeries which bear a remarkable similarity to the French or Italian baked products. We have a biscuit in India which we call Cake Rusk and it tastes very similar to the Vanilla Biscottis. I matched the ingredients of the cake rusk and biscotti and found them to be alike.  However, when we proceed to baking, the methods are different. Biscottis are baked by shaping the dough in the form of a log whereas a cake rusk is baked in the form of a cake by pouring the batter inside a baking tray. After the initial baking both the biscotti and cake rusk are cut into pieces and toasted which brings that crunchy texture. 

How to enjoy this delicious biscuit?

Since biscotti is dry, it is best to pair it with a beverage. I read that the traditional pair of biscotti is a sweet wine called Vin Santo. However, personally I love to enjoy it with a cup of coffee. Debarshi likes to eat his biscotti by dunking it in his tea and I am sure kids will enjoy this crunchy biscuit with a glass of milk. Pair this with whatever you like best, this yummy crunchy biscuit goes well with everything.

Ingredients:

• Butter – 4 tablespoons
• White Sugar – ¼ cup and 2 teaspoons 
• Egg - 1 
• Vanilla Extract – ¼ teaspoon 
• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup 
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon 
• Baking Powder – ¼ teaspoon 

Let’s Prep:

• Keep the butter and the egg on the kitchen counter. This will help to bring the egg to the room temperature and soften the butter. Leave them out for about half an hour.
• Line a baking pan with foil. Grease it lightly with oil.
• Keep a piece of parchment paper handy.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, cream the Butter and Sugar together. If using stand mixer, use the whisk. 
• Once it looks all mixed up and creamy, add the Egg and beat until fluffy. The batter may look slightly curdled, but it’s ok.
• Stir in the Vanilla Extract. 
• Sift together the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.
• Now this step is very important. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir with a spoon or spatula until the dough comes together. Don’t over mix it or the dough can become tough and dense. I never use my stand mixer for this step as it can easily over knead the dough.
• Wet your hands with water or vegetable oil, this will help to work with the dough. 
• Roll the dough into a log about 15 inches long. 
• Place the log onto the baking pan lined with foil. 
• Flatten the log out until it is about 3 inches wide with a slight hump going down the middle. 
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, loaf should be firm. 
• Remove the loaf from the oven. 
• You may switch off the oven at this time.
• Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes, but not much longer. Set a timer for 10 minutes that should give you a buffer to pre heat the oven again and cut the loaf.
• Turn the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. 
• Transfer the loaf to a cutting board and using a serrated bread knife, start cutting the slices. They should not be too thin, about half inch thickness is good. Cut them at an angle.
• Place the cookies on the baking pan lined with the parchment paper. Lay them on one side with one to two inches of space in between each cookie.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. 
• Take out the pan carefully and turn all the cookies using a kitchen tong.
• Return to the oven and bake the other side for another 10 minutes.
• Switch off the oven and take out the baking pan.
• Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for about 30 minutes. 
• Store in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.

Tips:

• Substitute the sugar with a zero calorie sugar like Truvia.
• If the room is cold it may take longer for the butter to melt, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to melt it.
• Make sure you are not dropping any egg shells in the mixing bowl. If you are having trouble, use a small bowl. Crack each egg into the bowl, check for shell fragments, then pour it into the mixing bowl. This is also a great way to make sure that we are not using any rotten eggs.
• If you want to increase the number of servings, the amount of all the ingredients will increase accordingly. The number of eggs will also increase. Now, whenever you are adding more than one egg, make sure to beat each egg well into the mixture before adding the next.
• The reason I used foil during my first bake is to prevent the loaf from getting over baked. I had been trying this recipe with parchment paper and every time after 15 minutes, the loaf would get so brown on the bottom that I had to take it out. The foil gave me enough time to get a proper bake on the loaf.
• Don’t forget to line the baking pan with an aluminum foil for the initial baking, this will help a quick clean up.
• Use a spray or brush to grease the foil. 
• After the first baking, we are letting the biscotti cool down a bit so that we can get clean slices. Now this waiting time is crucial, if you don’t wait and cut too soon, you will not get clean slices, on the other hand, if you wait too long then the dough will harden, making it difficult to cut. Touch the loaf cautiously to check if it has cooled down a bit. If its too hot, it is not yet ready to be cut. 
• A serrated knife allows you to slice the loaf neatly without putting any pressure on it. Cut the loaf in a sawing motion.

• You may cut the slices straight that will yield small biscottis. If you want long and elegant slices, then you need to cut the logs at an angle.
• Don’t forget to transfer the biscottis to a cooling rack as soon as they have finished the second bake. This will make them crisper as they cool.
• Biscotti stays crisp at room temperature. I always store it in an airtight container.

Recommended Reading:

• Basic Kitchen Measurements
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Boozy Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• One Dough Different Cookies
• Loaded Nuts Cookies
• Fork Pressed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• My Scrumptious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies with a hint of Carom Seeds