My grandmother (fathers’ mother) celebrated a birthday this past Saturday so I baked up a special treat to send to her. When it comes to care packages, biscotti often come to mind because they are regularly crowd pleasers and both ship and keep well.
Biscotti are often served here in the states with coffee, but instead I put the coffee in the biscotti. These cookies taste like a rich hazelnut mocha with pleasant hits of chocolate and coffee and the nuttiness of hazelnuts. I use King Arthur Flour brand cappuccino chips in this recipe (purchased at their store while on my Vermont vacation), but if you cannot find them, feel free to add an additional 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I’ve also used chocolate extract in this recipe to up the chocolate flavor. It’s purely optional, but I find it rounds out the flavor of cocoa power in baked goods. (I also happen to have a HUGE 18 oz. bottle so I tend to use it a lot.)
Adapted from Gourmet’s recipe for Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
Yields approximately 30 biscotti
Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
-3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
-1 cup granulated sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)
-1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped (If you’ve never toasted hazelnuts before, try this method. It works like a charm.)
-1/2 cup cappuccino chips
-1/4 dark chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a large baking sheet.
In a bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and instant coffee powder until well combined. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and chocolate extract and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in hazelnuts and chips.
On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. (This is merely a guideline. Sometimes I make my logs skinnier or wider depending on if I want large or mini biscotti.) Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.
On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.
Hungry for more biscotti recipes? Check out my posts on Banana Bread Biscotti, Double Chocolate Biscotti, and Parmesan Peppercorn Biscotti.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Ohh so sweet of you to bake your gram some goodies! I always love sending out baked goods rather than something store bought because it shows you took the time and thought to put the gift together! I actually made biscotti for the first time over the past holiday season and it turned out quite well. However, I am not a huge fan of biscotti myself, I like chewy things!!
I’ve never made biscotti, but this would be the kind I’d like to make!
I’ve only made biscotti once and it was for my grandma too. Happy birthday, grandma!!
Chocolate + hazelnuts are a match made in heaven. I hope you stole a few from the batch to enjoy for yourself
I would love this delicious biscotti with my coffee right now! Sounds perfect!
Perfect flavor combination! Happy birthday to your grandma!
I tried to bake biscotti once and it turned out only so-so. But my dad’s birthday is quickly approaching and this would be a recipe he’d love. Thanks for the gift idea!
What a beautiful site you have! Your biscotti looks absolutely delicious!
That is a really good idea, biscotti would ship well. I am going to have to remember that for birthdays! Thanks.
ooh, i’d love to hit up the king arthur store… they have an eggnog extract that i’d love to play with
You can just slide those over this way…
Looks delicious! I’m sure your grandma was so happy!
Anything that combines hazelnuts and chocolate is sure to be magical. It’s why I can never get enough of Nutella, either.
Biscotti queen, you! They look wonderful, what a great gift.
This looks delicious! Great site you have, this is the first time I’ve seen it
This looks like a biscotti cookie crossed with a brownie, how delicious! I haven’t made biscotti in a while, definitely too long, and now I’m thinking I should remedy that with a batch of the chocolate variety. Thanks for the temptation and inspiration!
Hi Kelly, so nice of U to bake for your grandmother’s birthday. Your biscotti’s description sounds tasty, lol. Cheers!