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Well, it seems my parents are hooked on biscotti again and this time it’s mine.  (Yeah!)  Ok, I’m hooked too…  So, now I’m on a kick to try out as many different kinds of biscotti as I can.  Since I once had a rather unusual breakfast obsession with Nutella on toast at one time in the past, it seemed logical (to me) that whenever I think of hazelnuts, I think of chocolate and coffee.  I should say that I like my biscotti big so I can just grab one and go, so if you prefer smaller biscotti, just make two logs instead of one.

Double Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

2-2/3 cups flour
1/3 cups cocoa powder
2-1/4 tsp  baking powder
3/4 salt
1 Tbsp espresso powder
3 eggs
1-1/3 cup (9 oz) organic cane sugar
3/4 c safflower oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1-1/2 c hazelnuts
3/4 c dark chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Roast hazelnuts for 15 minutes or until fragrant.  After 8 minutes, shake pan to rotate hazelnuts.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt.
• Add vanilla to the oil.
• Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on medium for three minutes until pale and thick.
• Beat in vanilla & oil mixture on low speed.
• Using a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture.
• Add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.
• Using a spatula, transfer dough (which should be quite sticky) to the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Shape into one long log (will be about the length of the baking sheet & 6 inches wide).
• Wet fingertips and gently smooth the top of the logs.
• Bake the logs for 25 minutes.  They should be crisp and golden on the outside.  They will still be soft on the inside.
• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the logs into 1-inch wide pieces.  Use a serrated steak knife if possible.  Cut slowly and wipe the knife off between cuts to ensure clean cuts each time.
• Using a long icing knife or long spatula, lift the pieces to the new baking sheet.  Lay the cut pieces on their side.  Space them evenly about 1/2-inch or more apart.
• Bake in the oven for 22 minutes or until they are crisp and brown on the outside.
• Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes or until cool to the touch.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  As the cookies cool they will become crisper.
• Store in an airtight container.

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What do you get the people with everything?  The one thing they can’t find.  For my parents, that is (oddly enough…) biscotti.  They used to get cherry-pistachio biscotti at a spot near my house.  It was amazing and for a while I was hooked on it too.  It wasn’t as crisp as most biscotti so you didn’t need to dip it in coffee/tea in order to take a bite.  As a complete coffee addict, I need every drop of coffee.  When you dip biscotti in coffee, crumbs pool in the bottom of the cup.  I will not be robbed of my last sip, so I refuse to dip my biscotti.  So, as luck would have it, the spot stopped making the “biteable” biscotti and reverted to the standard biscotti that required dipping.  I kept going back to the spot over and over hoping I would find the biscotti but they never went back to the old formula.  So…. I figured I’d do what I do best and try and figure out a way to make it myself. My mother tested the biscotti and has deemed them as good if not better than the original.  Although, as I said, she is my mother so you may need to take this approval with a grain of salt….lol.

 Cherry-Pistachio Biscotti 

3 cups (15 oz) flour
2-1/4 tsp  baking powder
3/4 salt
3 eggs
1-1/3 cup (9 oz) organic cane sugar
3/4 c safflower oil
2 tsp orange zest (zest of 2 medium oranges)
1 tbsp vanilla
1-1/2 c pistachios, roasted & salted
3/4 c dried tart cherries

• Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, baking powder & salt.
• Zest orange into the oil.  Add vanilla.
• Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on medium for three minutes until pale and thick.
• Beat in orange zest, vanilla & oil mixture on low speed.
• Using a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture.
• Add the pistachios and cherries.
• Using a spatula, transfer dough (which should be quite sticky) to the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Shape into one long log (will be about the length of the baking sheet & 6 inches wide).
• Wet fingertips and gently smooth the top of the logs.
• Bake the logs for 25 minutes.  They should be crisp and golden on the outside.  They will still be soft on the inside.
• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the logs into 1-inch wide pieces.  Use a serrated steak knife if possible.  Cut slowly and wipe the knife off between cuts to ensure clean cuts each time.
• Using a long icing knife or long spatula, lift the pieces to the new baking sheet.  Lay the cut pieces on their side.  Space them evenly about 1/2-inch or more apart.
• Bake in the oven for 22 minutes or until they are crisp and brown on the outside.
• Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes or until cool to the touch.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  As the cookies cool they will become crisper.
• Store in an airtight container.

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