Double Chocolate Orange Biscotti

I’ve been cooking and baking like a mad woman lately, which also means I’ve been eating, unfortunately, which means more time at the gym and less time to blog. All excuses aside here’s a little recipe adapted from the brilliant Dave Lebovitz’ “Living the sweet life in Paris” blog. Look here for the original recipe. I came across this recipe on pinterest, a cool little Web page that makes my computer emit a loud time-sucking sound whenever I turn it on. But at least it’s useful. So pin this on your recipe board and bake these biscotti. In that order.

Double Chocolate Orange Biscotti
2 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tb orange juice concentrate thawed
2 tsp dried orange peel
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
1.) Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
2.) In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, o.j. concentrate and orange peel.
3.) Add the flour mix to the wet mix in batches.
4.) When combined, mix the almonds and chocolate chips in by hand.
5.) Drop the dough in spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in two long rows. With floured fingers, shape the two rows of dough into narrow, squared off logs. Dust with extra flour for that rustic look or glaze with cream for a more finished look.
6.) Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
7.) Using a butcher knife and pressing evenly so the biscotti doesn’t crumble, slice the log into 36 pieces.
8.) Arrange the pieces, flat-side down on two baking sheets. Place in the oven and bake for another 8 minutes each side. Let cool before storing.
9.) You can also melt good chocolate and dip the biscotti in the chocolate. The chocolate will harden as it cools. But these were so rich any more chocolate in my mind was overkill.
10.) These will generally keep for a week or two. They don’t usually last longer than that at our house because they get eaten pretty quickly. They’re great with ice cream, a hot cup of coffee or cocoa and especially as a decadent breakfast.

 

During my most recent trip to Penzey's I stocked up on some yummy items for baking. Highly recommend especially the natural cocoa and the Vietnamese Cinnamon. Hugely superior to most of what you find in the stores and well worth the little higher price.