Chocolate Chip Almond Biscotti | For Blog Hop Wednesdays

August 17, 2011 By Radhika 46 Comments

This week’s blog hopping landed me on Vidhya’s space known to all of us as Sugar N Spice. I was really confused with what to choose as there are so many recipes that I liked very much that I wanted to give it a try. She has some delectable American Recipes which I loved but this one definitely caught my attention as I had been seeing these in the Blog world for some time now but kept postponing from trying out as I was not confident enough, I guess.

Also I have never eaten them before so I have got nothing to compare it with and I am depending on you baking experts out there to assure me that what you see here is how it will really turn out.

Apart from trying out this for the first time I even had the gal to go ahead and experiment with it. See how overconfident I have become Sarcastic smile . I convinced myself that even if the outcome was not a biscotti I could always enjoy this as a cookie but the only catch was in convincing my children as they will know the difference.

Going by the “Mmmmmm…” sound that Arun was making as he was enjoying the dough which I had a hard time keeping it away from him, I felt that I have crossed half the well. The next tricky part is getting it not just baked once but twice. The timing and understanding of your oven can help a lot in preventing the biscotti from getting a burnt smell.

With the children around, the anxiety was more as they were frequenting the kitchen asking me whether it is ready and done with and barraging me with umpteen questions of how it will taste, its shape, texture, color etc., which I had a tough time answering as I myself did not have a clue.

You’ll need:

All Purpose Flour	1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour	1/2 cup
Oats	1/4 cup
Sugar	1-1/4 cup
Eggs	2
Baking Powder	1 tsp
Baking Soda	1/2 tsp
Salt	1/8 tsp
Chocolate Chips	1/2 cup
Almonds	1/2 cup
Butter / Vanaspati	3 tbsp
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Sweet almond extract	1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 Deg C. Grease a pan and keep it ready.

Pulse the oats in a mixie to a powder. Toast the almonds either in a microwave or a pan and when cool chop it coarsely. You can remove the skin before chopping it but I chose not to.

Sieve together both the flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt twice. To this add the powdered oats, chopped almonds and chocolate chips. Mix well and keep aside.

As the sugar that I used was grainy I powdered it in the mixie. You can skip this if you use fine sugar. Cream together butter and sugar. I used vanaspati as I the butter I had was not enough. Add the eggs one at a time to the sugar mixture and beat well. Arun helped me with this one. To this add vanilla essence and the sweet almond extract and mix well.

To this wet mixture add the flour mixture, little by little and keep mixing it. Using a wooden spatula will help you. The dough was very tight and a bit sticky too. Use all purpose flour to dust your hands for easy handling.

Now comes the part of shaping the dough. we are not going to use any cute cutters here but will shape the dough into a log like or a rectangle shape.

Place the shaped dough on the greased tray and bake for 30 minutes or till it is firm to your hands. Take it out and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.

Place the under cooked log on a wooden board and using a serrated knife and sawing motion of your hand cut them horizontally into thick strips. When you are half way in just press the knife all way down. This will prevent the crumbs from falling off.

Place the cut side down and stack the pieces on the baking tray. Reduce the temperature to 180 Deg C and bake for 10 mins. Take it off the oven and turn the sides for all the pieces. Again shove the tray into the oven and bake for 10 mins. Let it cool.

Chocolate chip Almond Biscotti is ready. Store them in an airtight container and enjoy with your cuppa.

Verdict:

I had to kick myself for putting if off from trying out this long. I had read reviews that it would be crisp but I never expected it to be this crisp and crumbling. It literally gives a cracking sound when you bite. We all loved it very much and this was a best partner for tea. The feel and taste of chocolate chips and almonds in every bite was just too good. DH said that it was similar to the Rusks we get in shops here only this one was with a chocolate flavor. Are both the same? I would love to know from you.

Notes:

The temperatures and timings given here are based on my oven model. It may differ in yours.

I saw that the thinly cut strips just crumbled and broke into pieces while cutting. So cut them into thick ones.

A serrated knife works out better saving you from more crumbs.

I enjoyed my Biscotti with a hot, steaming mug of Cardamom tea and it was bliss. Do not be put off by the process. It is really easy once you start it and worth all the effort.

This is to the Blog Hop Wednesdays and if you want to join the hopping gang do send a mail. Now I am off to check what the other Blog Hoppers had rustled up.

This is also off to WWC:Oats in Baking.

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