Spiced Biscotti with Dried Fruit
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 21, 2007
Time
1¾ hours, plus 1 hour macerating and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes 4-5 dozen
Ingredients
¾ cup dried currants, chopped raisins, or dates¼ cup brandy or marsala wine2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon table salt ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper ½ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground ginger 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Before You Begin
If desired, substitute three whole eggs for the two eggs and two egg yolks in this recipe.
Instructions
- Combine currants, raisins, or dates and brandy or marsala. Set aside and let stand for at least 1 hour. Drain, reserving 1 teaspoon macerating liquid.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger together in a small bowl.
- Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in vanilla extract. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, add macerated fruit and reserved teaspoon of macerating liquid and fold ingredients until dough is just combined.
- 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.
- 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.
Time
1¾ hours, plus 1 hour macerating and 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes 4-5 dozenIngredients
¾ cup dried currants, chopped raisins, or dates
¼ cup brandy or marsala wine
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup dried currants, chopped raisins, or dates
¼ cup brandy or marsala wine
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup dried currants, chopped raisins, or dates
¼ cup brandy or marsala wine
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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
If desired, substitute three whole eggs for the two eggs and two egg yolks in this recipe.
Instructions
- Combine currants, raisins, or dates and brandy or marsala. Set aside and let stand for at least 1 hour. Drain, reserving 1 teaspoon macerating liquid.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger together in a small bowl.
- Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in vanilla extract. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, add macerated fruit and reserved teaspoon of macerating liquid and fold ingredients until dough is just combined.
- 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.
- 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.
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