Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book - Bruce Weinstein [36]
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN LARGE BISCOTTI
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
12/3 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole hazelnuts (about 10 ounces)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons hazelnut oil (see Note) or canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until a uniform color; set aside.
2. Place the hazelnuts on a large baking sheet and toast for about 7 minutes, or until very aromatic and lightly browned. Do not allow the pale creamy flesh of the nuts to turn dark brown. Cool them, then pour them into a clean kitchen towel and rub off the papery skins, working in batches if necessary. (One word of warning: keep your lips sealed because bits of that papery stuff can make for a coughing nightmare!) You needn’t get every single bit of husk off, but do a fairly thorough job. Set the cleaned, toasted nuts aside. Once the baking sheet has cooled, line it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. With an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the eggs and oil in a second large bowl until yellow and light, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the vanilla until smooth. Turn off the beaters, add the flour mixture all at once, then beat at low speed just until small, wet bits of dough start to cohere, about 15 seconds. Remove the beaters and stir in the hazelnuts with a wooden spoon, or work them in by hand.
4. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour, then turn the dough out onto it. Handling it as little as possible, gather the dough into a ball, making sure the nuts are evenly distributed. Do not knead the dough. Dust the work surface and your hands again with flour, then divide the dough in half and form each into a 10inch log. Flatten the logs slightly, so that they become oval cylinders, about 1 inch thick at their centers.
5. Place these logs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes, or until cracked and firm to the touch, but not browned. Cool on the sheet for 20 minutes until barely warm. Meanwhile, lower the oven temperature to 300°F.
6. Transfer the logs to a cutting board and slice them with a serrated knife into 3/4-inch-thick cookies. If desired, slice them on the diagonal for longer biscotti. Place the cookies, cut side down and about 1/2 inch apart, on the baking sheet, still covered with parchment or a baking mat. If one baking sheet is not large enough to hold all the biscotti, do a second baking after the first has finished.
7. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the cookies over to the other cut side, and bake for about 8 more minutes, or until toasted brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
* * *
NOTE: Hazelnut oil is found in most gourmet markets and some health food stores. It goes rancid quickly, so store it in the refrigerator, but let it come to room temperature before using. Always smell nut oils before you use them to make sure they don’t have a sharp tang, a sign they’ve gone bad.
Recommended storage
1 week at room temperature
3 months in the freezer
More Fun!
To make dipped biscotti, place 12 ounces bittersweet, semisweet, milk, or white chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water, or a medium bowl set over a saucepan with a small amount of simmering water; stir until half the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Cool for 5 minutes. Dip the cooled biscotti into the chocolate, then place the cookies on large sheets of wax paper for about 30 minutes until the chocolate coating hardens.
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SANDWICH COOKIES
These special treats are made with