America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Lemon-Anise Biscotti

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1¾ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Makes 3-4 dozen

Lemon-Anise Biscotti

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon table salt 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon anise seed

Before You Begin

A Sicilian specialty, this recipe produces a relatively hard biscuit -- perfect with an afternoon cup of coffee.

Instructions

  1. Sift first three ingredients together in a small bowl.
  2. Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in next 3 ingredients. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, then fold in until dough is just combined.
  3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Halve dough and turn each portion onto an oiled cookie sheet covered with parchment. Using floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13-by-2-inch log, placing them about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Pat each dough shape to smooth it. Bake, turning pan once, until loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes.
  4. Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. Cut each loaf diagonally into 3/8-inch slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1/2-inch apart on the cookie sheet, cut side up, and return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each cookie halfway through baking, until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely. Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month.
Lemon-Anise Biscotti

Lemon-Anise Biscotti

Headshot of America's Test Kitchen
By America's Test Kitchen
Save

Time

1¾ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling

Yield

Makes 3-4 dozen

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon anise seed

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon anise seed

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon anise seed

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a great biscotti recipe for crunchy—but not tooth-cracking—biscuits, full of flavor and easy to make. Our favorite combination of ingredients included whole eggs with no additional yolks or butter, because this resulted in the truest delivery—lean and direct—of the flavors in these cookies. (Cookies made with only whites were harder than hard.) We also found that biscotti recipes made with whole eggs got even better with time; they tasted great and remained very crisp after a week and, when stored properly (in an airtight container), they kept for a month.

Before You Begin

A Sicilian specialty, this recipe produces a relatively hard biscuit -- perfect with an afternoon cup of coffee.

Instructions

  1. Sift first three ingredients together in a small bowl.
  2. Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in next 3 ingredients. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, then fold in until dough is just combined.
  3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Halve dough and turn each portion onto an oiled cookie sheet covered with parchment. Using floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13-by-2-inch log, placing them about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Pat each dough shape to smooth it. Bake, turning pan once, until loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes.
  4. Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. Cut each loaf diagonally into 3/8-inch slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1/2-inch apart on the cookie sheet, cut side up, and return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each cookie halfway through baking, until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely. Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.