Name: Orange-Hazelnut Biscotti
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon table salt; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; 3/4 cup whole hazelnuts with skins; toasted, cooled, and chopped coarse; 1 large orange zested and minced to yield 2 tablespoons zest

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

The addition of a small amount of butter produces a richer, more cookie-like texture. Although they will keep at least two weeks in an airtight container, these biscotti are especially good when eaten the same day they are baked. A combination of almonds and hazelnuts works very well, too.

Instructions

Sift first three ingredients together in a small bowl.

Beat butter and sugar together in bowl of electric mixer until light and smooth; add eggs one at a time, then extracts. Stir in hazelnuts and zest. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, then fold in 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.