This pair whisks me back to my studies in Italy – bacio, nocciola, nutella –  hazelnuts are ubiquitous there and they happen to be my absolute favorite. Every Christmas I make a big batch of dark chocolate hazelnut biscotti. They are my signature biscotti and I don’t fool around with the recipe.

Biscotti have many merits. First and foremost, they are acceptable to eat for breakfast. Yay.

Then there’s the fact that they taste even better with a little coffee.

These are made without butter and I consider them a healthier alternative to the rest of my holiday bake list. Plus they are easy to make ahead, freeze and store for your holiday celebrations.

Say no more, let’s start baking!

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Christmas, Cookies, Holiday, Italian Prep 30 mins ∙ Cook 1 hr ∙ Makes 24 ∙ Difficulty Medium ∙ Source My Collection

Author: Oat&Sesame

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp amaretto
• Up to 4 tbs water
• â…“ cup blanched almonds, toasted
• 12 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into small chunks
• 1½ cups toasted hazelnuts, peeled and chopped into large pieces

Instructions

1. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside for the biscotti.
2. Heat oven to 375°.
3. Go ahead and place the almonds and hazelnuts on separate sheet pans and toast them in the oven as it warms up. The almonds only take about 5 min - so watch them carefully. The hazelnuts a tad longer. Just until they start to brown.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
5. In a food processor, place ½ cup of the flour mixture and add the toasted almonds.
6. Grind until fine and powdery (about 30 sec).
7. Add the almond mixture to the bowl with the rest of the flour mixture. Stir to combine.
8. Mix in chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.
9. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, extract, and amaretto together. Add to dry ingredients and mix. If the mixture seems too dry, add 1 tbsp water, up to 4 tbs.
10. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into 2 pieces.
11. Roll out to 5x13x1 flattened rectangular logs.
12. Transfer logs to greased baking sheet.
13. Bake 25-30 min. Rotating pan after 15 min.
14. Remove from oven and let cool 30 min.
15. Reduce temp to 300° and cut logs diagonally with serrated knife. I find it's easier to apply pressure to cut them rather than a slicing motion.
16. Grease pan again. Lay slices on one of their cut sides and bake 25-30 min. Let cool in oven.

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