Biscotti - dry biscuits. Biscotti cookies Options for additives in cookies

Sift the flour into a bowl with baking powder, add a pinch of salt. Cut the cold butter into cubes, then place it in the bowl of a food processor, add sugar and grind everything into crumbs.

Add the eggs to the butter, continuing to beat. Then add flour little by little. Add chopped nuts and raisins. Knead the resulting dough well on a floured surface, wrap in film and place in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, knead it again, and form it into a flat loaf. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Cut the loaf into pieces 1-2 cm thick. Place the resulting cookies on a baking sheet with the cut side up and put them back in the oven, bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Cool the finished cookies a little, pour melted white chocolate or brush with peanut butter. If desired, you can decorate the treat by sprinkling nuts or raisins on top.
Bon appetit!

Biscotti is an Italian pastry, somewhat similar to our “drying”. Subtle Italian taste, but how could it be different for residents of southern countries?!

Classic biscotti contain almonds. The use of almond treats dates back to ancient Rome, where almond candies were originally served at the feasts of the Roman aristocracy. Over time, the delicacy became available to more democratic circles of the empire. Only as a result, the sweets gradually changed their composition and turned into cheaper almond-based baked goods. The cheapest biscotti resembled biscuits and, after baking, remained in the oven for a long time to dry. Roman legionaries used these cookies as food during the march. To make it softer, soak it in sweet water with lemon. Later, the cookies were used by soldiers and sailors, and in the case of Christopher Columbus's Spanish Armada, they were soaked in beer.

The classic biscotti contains only flour, eggs, almonds and Italian pine nuts - pinoli. Nowadays, pistachios, dry figs, and chocolate have been introduced into cookies instead of almonds. But in this case, instead of the traditional Vin Santo wine, you need to choose another type of drink to pair with the cookies. And some confectioners add cow's butter, yeast, and honey to the dough, which makes the cookies softer, but changes their taste.

In general, such dry cookies are a good option for quick baking. You get cookies that don’t require a lot of fiddling with, kneading and rolling out dough. There is also no oil in these baked goods, which makes them easy and accessible for children and adults, even those on a diet.

Biscotti with lemon and nuts

The biscotti in this recipe contains nuts, you can use any others that you happen to have on hand. Lemon zest adds a subtle aroma and noticeable citrus taste. These cookies will be a great addition to your morning cup of coffee.

step by step recipe with photos

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken eggs,
• 180 g wheat flour,
• 150 g powdered sugar,
• 10 g vanilla sugar,
• 0.5 tsp. baking powder,
• 100 g nuts.

Cooking process:

Beat the eggs and powdered sugar until foamy, about 4-5 minutes. and At the same time add vanilla sugar.

Sift the flour - this will help remove impurities and enrich it with oxygen, which will give the dough a lighter and airier texture.

Add baking powder and lemon zest to the flour. When grating the zest, avoid getting the white layer into the dough, it will add bitterness to the baked goods.

Finely chop the nuts and add to the dough, mix well until smooth. The biscotti dough should be quite stiff.

Preheat the oven in advance. Cover a baking sheet with parchment.

Divide the dough into two parts, form each into a log and place on a baking sheet. There is no need to grease the parchment with oil!

Bake at 180 degrees in the oven for about 20 minutes. Take out the hot “sticks” and let them cool a little. And then cut into slices about 1 cm wide.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes until the biscotti are well browned. During the baking process, turn the Italian cookies over a couple of times.

Serve the dry biscuits for tea completely cooled.

Bon appetit!

Italian cookies are called biscotti; tourists apply this name to almost all small baked goods in Italy. It was originally invented 2000 years ago. The Roman legion fell in love with it for its ability to remain tasty for a long time - it can be stored for more than 3 months. During the long campaigns of conquest, such a delicacy was highly valued. They say that even the famous navigator Columbus took biscotti on his travels, and with them he discovered America.

Both sea voyages and land operations of that time could not do without biscotti - since this was, in fact, the only way to preserve bread for a long time.

Before the next trip, delicious crackers were prepared in advance - about 3-5 months in advance and baked 4 times at equal intervals. During this time, the biscotti dried completely and thanks to this they were stored for so long. After such manipulations, they were not afraid of frost, rain, mold or heat. It became known that sailors in Spain in the mid-14th century received 400 grams of biscotti and beer to soak them.

The name itself consists of cookies from two words “Bi” - which means double, “Scotty” - baked goods. These cookies are baked twice, which makes them very hard and fragile at the same time. Biscotti has a dense structure. It is served in Italy with dessert and red wine, in America and England with tea, cocoa, milk or juice, as well as hot chocolate. Delicious crackers are dipped into drinks to soften them. The unsweetened version is served with soups or broths.

While the cantucci variety of biscotti is more tender, breaks easier and has a richer filling - most often these are any nuts (usually almonds), raisins, and dried fruits. More butter and sugar are added to the cantucci. This is, one might say, a dessert version of traditional Italian pastries.

Biscotti - recipe with photos step by step

A step-by-step recipe will help you prepare delicious Italian croutons according to the traditional recipe, how the Italians cook. The preparation is not at all difficult, but the dough is sticky and quite difficult to work with, so it’s worth preparing all the ingredients and baking dish in advance. A regular baking tray will work as a form.

Ingredients:

• flour - 300-320 gr.;
• sugar - 150 gr.;
• butter – 80-100 gr.;
• eggs – 2 pcs.;
• vanilla sugar – 1-2 packets;
• baking powder – 1 tsp. (it is not recommended to replace soda);
• salt - a pinch;
• almonds – 160-180 gr.;
• raisins – 80-120 gr.;
• refined oil 1 tbsp.

How to make biscotti

1. First of all, let's deal with nuts - almonds have a very thick skin that is very bitter. You can get rid of it in two ways - either pour boiling water over it, and after 5-10 minutes, with little effort, the skin can be peeled off with a knife. Or you can pour water over the nuts the night before and leave them overnight - this way the skins will come off much easier.
2. The nuts are not roasted for this baking, so just chop them with a knife. We want medium sized pieces, not nut crumbs.
   
3. Stir the eggs a little, add a mixture of regular sugar and vanilla. The last ingredient can be replaced with vanilla, essence, or not added at all.
   
4. We work with a whisk, gradually turning the eggs into a dense and elastic mass.
   
5. We need butter that is very soft and plastic. You need to take it out of the freezer in advance. Add oil.
   
6. Rub the mixture until completely homogeneous with a spatula or whisk, making sure there are no lumps.
   
7. Sift the flour, this will make the biscotti softer and more crumbly. Knead a thick dough with flour.
   
8. Add nuts, soaked and dried raisins. We work with our hands to evenly distribute large pieces over the dough.
   
9. Lubricate your hands with vegetable oil. We form two sausages from the dough, approximately 4-5 cm in diameter and equal to the length of the baking sheet.
   
10. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay out the pieces.
11. Place in a hot oven and bake until light golden brown for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.
12. Remove the sausages and cool them completely.
    
13. Cut into slices 1 centimeter thick, slightly diagonally. Place on a baking sheet in one layer and bake again until brownish on the edges.
    
    
14. Let it cool completely again and put the baked goods into beautiful jars. You can take a bottle of wine and feel free to visit your friends and take them on a short culinary trip to Italy.
    

Cantucci with walnuts

A sweeter and richer variety of biscotti with nuts and other additives is called cantucci. Today we will prepare these cookies with walnuts, which are more familiar to us. An excellent addition to hot drinks, it’s not difficult to prepare and can be stored for a very long time, although I can’t test it; the entire portion disappears in 2-3 days.

To prepare cantucci we will need:

• flour - 300 gr.;
• sugar (fine is better) - 150g;
• eggs - 4 pcs;
• salt - 0.5 tsp,
• baking powder - 1 tsp;
• vanilla essence 1 tsp. or 2 packs of vanilla sugar
• walnut - 150g;
• dark raisins or any dried fruit - 100g.

How to make cantucia

1. Combine dry ingredients: sifted flour, salt, baking powder, sugar. Baking powder cannot be replaced with soda, since the dough contains no acidic ingredients that would quench it, which means it will later be felt in the finished cookies.
   
2. Cool the eggs and separate the white from the yolk of one egg. We put the protein in the refrigerator.
   
3. We clean the nuts and put them in the oven to roast them a little. The temperature should be about 200-220°C. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn! Take it out to cool a little. Then we chop with a knife.
   
   
   
4. To ensure that the nuts are evenly distributed, add them to the flour. Add dried fruits (for me, by the way, these are dried cherries).
   
5. Pour eggs (3 whole and 1 yolk) into the dry mixture and mix with your hands. It turns out to be a very cool dough. That's how it should be. If you suddenly end up with a soft dough, add flour.
   
   
6. We divide it into three parts and make plump sausages, about 5 cm wide, slightly flattened. Let's prepare a baking tray - line it with baking paper, grease it with oil, and sprinkle it lightly with flour. We lay out the future cantucci at a distance from each other. Beat the reserved egg white and brush the dough with a pastry brush.
   
7. Send to bake at 180°C for 35-45 minutes, until the dough is “dry” (pierce the dough with a toothpick; if it’s dry, the baking is ready).
   
8. Cool completely and cut with a very sharp knife.
   
9. We spread and bake again until crusty.
   

Options for additives in cookies

You can add a variety of ingredients, namely:

• dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, prunes, dried pineapple, papaya, dried apricots);
• nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, peanuts, unsalted pistachios);
• seeds (sunflower, pumpkin seeds, white and black sesame);
• chocolate pieces;
• pieces of fruit (figs, dates).

For aroma, not only vanilla is added, but also cinnamon, citrus zest, cocoa, and melted chocolate.

1. Do not cut too thinly - the thickness of the slice is 1-1.5 cm. Thinner slices break when served, and thick ones turn out to be very hard.
2. Watch the cutting. The thickness of the cookies should be the same. Otherwise, the thin one will start to burn in the oven, while the thick one will remain too soft.
3. For variety, you can cover part or all of the cookie surface with chocolate.

Whatever ingredients are used for dry Italian cookies, the classic biscotti recipe remains unchanged. The secret is double baking, which makes the dessert light and crispy. It is prepared in the same way as regular crackers.

First, a loaf is formed from a special dough and baked in the oven. Then cut the finished product into slices and bake them again. But unlike crackers, Italians do not bite biscotti, but dip it in wine, coffee or tea. The cookies soften very quickly, become tender, fragrant and literally melt in your mouth. Due to the fact that it is perfectly soaked, it is sometimes used to prepare the tiramisu dessert.

Biscotti was first mentioned in documents dating back to the 13th century. Later sources say that Christopher Columbus willingly took it on his voyages, since this pastry is very filling and does not spoil for a long time.

Previously, only the following products were used for cookies:

• flour - 250 g;
• sugar - 125 g;
• soda - 1 tsp;
• salt - on the tip of the knife;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• almonds - 1 cup;
• butter - 50 g;
• Amaretto liqueur - 1 tbsp. l.

Sift the flour, mix in a bowl with soda and salt. Melt the butter and wait until it cools. Beat the eggs well, preferably with a mixer. Then, without stopping whipping, gradually add sugar, pour in liqueur and melted butter. Remove the mixer, add flour and knead into a thick dough.

You need to knead it until it becomes plastic. After this, pour the almonds into a bowl. Knead the dough again. Almonds will taste much better if they are lightly toasted in the oven. They are placed in the dough either whole or pre-cut in half.

To make the cookies especially crumbly, part of the almonds, about 50 g, needs to be crushed in a coffee grinder.

The oven must be preheated to 160°C. Give the dough an oblong shape, reminiscent of a regular loaf, with approximately the same diameter. Place it on a greased baking sheet (if the oven is small, you can form two products).

Place the loaf in the oven and bake until golden brown. This will take approximately half an hour. Then remove the workpiece and cool. To do this, it is advisable to place it on a wire rack. Then cut with a sharp knife into slices 1-1.5 cm thick and place them on a sheet covered with parchment.

Place the baking sheet in the oven for another 20-30 minutes, but at a temperature of 150°C. To ensure even drying, turn the slices over after 10 minutes. When they brown, cool on a wire rack. Before serving, biscotti can be topped with melted chocolate or condensed milk.

Classic fillings: honey, nuts and chocolate

Honey adds a special aroma to any baked goods, so many confectioners add it to biscotti. Almonds can be replaced with other nuts, such as hazelnuts or peanuts. Thanks to chocolate, the products will acquire a rich brown color.

For chocolate cookies you need to take the following products:

• flour - 1.5 cups;
• sugar - 1 glass;
• large eggs - 3 pcs.;
• soda - 1 tsp;
• salt - on the tip of the knife;
• peeled hazelnuts - 2/3 cup;
• chocolate chips - 2/3 cup.

Beat eggs with sugar for 5 minutes. Then pour them into a bowl with sifted flour, which should first be mixed with soda and salt. Knead the dough, then pour chocolate chips and hazelnuts into it. Knead gently for another 2-3 minutes to ensure the fillings are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

However, you don’t need to get too carried away, as the warmth of your hands will cause the chocolate chips to melt. Divide the dough into 2 parts, form small loaves of bread and bake them in the oven.

Baking with honey is prepared as follows. First you need to separate 2 egg whites and beat them together with 3 tbsp. l. sugar into a strong foam. Then, without turning off the mixer, gradually add half a glass of sifted flour and 100 g of almonds cut into small pieces. In biscotti, if the recipe is classic, it is recommended to add 0.5 tsp. ground allspice.

The dough should be baked at 180°C in rectangular pans, which are previously greased with oil and lined with baking paper. When a crust appears on the products, the molds need to be removed from the oven and cooled.

Then remove the loaves from the molds, wrap in foil and let rest for several hours. After this, cut and dry in the oven for 20-25 minutes, remembering to turn over.

Cookies with fruit fillings

Only dried fruits are put into the dough. Large dried apricots, prunes or dates should first be cut into pieces. Dried berries - raisins, dried cranberries or lingonberries - can be used whole. However, first you need to make sure that there are no seeds left in them. In some recipes, dried fruits require pre-steaming in boiling water or soaking in alcohol.

These cookies can be made from a relatively small number of ingredients:

• flour - 1 glass;
• raisins, dried cranberries and almonds - 50 g each;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• sugar - 150 g;
• vanilla sugar - 1 tsp;
• baking powder - 1 tsp;
• salt - 0.5 tsp.

Mix the sifted flour with salt and baking powder, add the eggs beaten with sugar. Knead the dough, gradually adding dried fruits and almonds. Form 2 loaves of bread from it and place in an oven preheated to 150°C for 30-40 minutes.

Care must be taken to ensure that the bread remains golden and creamy and not baked until brown.

Then cool them on a wire rack and cut them diagonally into slices no more than 1 cm thick. Dry the cookies in the oven for another half hour, but before doing so, reduce the temperature to 130°C.

To prepare the next delicacy, you need to prepare half a glass of oatmeal, a ripe banana, 75 g of pitted dates and 50 g of cashews. Chop the dates, dry the nuts a little in the oven and crush them. Cut the bananas into rings and mash with a fork.

Add to them 1 egg and 1 tbsp. l. Sahara. Mix the mixture, beat lightly with a whisk or mixer. Pour sifted flour into it, combined with 1 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. vanilla sugar. Knead the dough, adding dates and cashews to it. It will turn out quite sticky, so to form the loaf, you need to moisten your hands with water.

Bake the product for 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C. When it has cooled, cut into slices 1-1.5 cm thick and re-bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes on both sides.

Festive baking should not only be tasty, but also beautiful, so you will have to tinker with it a little longer. Cool the finished products, cut and bake again. Chocolate cookies go well not only with wine and coffee, but also with ice cream. If you don’t like a too dark dessert, you can replace the dark chocolate in the recipe with white.

First you need to stock up on products:

• flour - 3 cups;
• butter - 70-75 g;
• sugar - 100 g;
• water - half a glass;
• egg yolk - 1 pc.;
• vegetable oil (olive is best) - 1 tbsp. l.;
• light rum - 1 tbsp. l.;
• orange zest - 2 tbsp. l.;
• orange extract - 2-3 drops;
• salt - on the tip of the knife.

In addition, you will need 1 egg and 2 tbsp. l. melted butter to brush cookies. The oil used for the dough does not need to be heated. It should stand in a warm place until it becomes soft. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle into which to place all the other products indicated in the recipe.

Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky. Then form a long loaf from it, wrap it in cling film and leave in a cold place for 2 hours.

The dough for this type of biscotti should be cut into slices before baking. Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease a baking sheet with butter. Prick each cookie in several places with a fork, brush with beaten egg and bake for 25 minutes. During this time, the products will acquire a rich golden color.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool slightly (but no more than 5 minutes). Then brush the still warm slices with melted butter and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes. After this, cool the delicacy on a wire rack. You can draw patterns on top with melted white and dark chocolate and sprinkle with crushed nuts.

No wonder people say that all roads lead to Rome. And the new berth in our culinary voyage will again be the quiet haven of divine Italian cuisine. Today we will talk about preparing an amazing confectionery product - “Biscotti”. The recipe is classic and we’ll look at more of it in our article.

Oddly enough, but Italian Biscotti cookies do not have a single recipe. Every pastry chef and housewife has their own secret way of baking this delicacy.

In general, in Italy such cookies are called “Biscotto”, which translated from Latin means “twice baked”. First, the baked goods are sent as a whole loaf or roll into the oven and baked until done. Then they cut it into slices and put it back in the oven to dry.

On a note! You can add dried fruits, berries, fruits, jam, poppy seeds and other ingredients to your taste in Biscotti cookies.

These cookies are usually served with a glass of wine, but you can give preference to a cup of tea or coffee.

Compound:

• 125 g wheat flour;
• 30 g raisins;
• 100 g granulated sugar;
• one chicken egg;
• 40 g prunes;
• 30 g dried apricots;
• 25 g chopped almonds;
• 1 tsp. cognac or balsam;
• a pinch of finely ground salt;
• 1 tsp. baking powder;
• a handful of chopped walnuts.

Preparation:

Innovative recipe

“Biscotti” with almonds or other nuts is most often prepared, so this recipe has already become considered traditional. If you are used to constantly surprising your household, use unusual additives, for example, poppy seeds, dried berries.

Compound:

• wheat flour – 0.2 kg;
• granulated sugar – 200 g;
• chicken egg – 2 pcs.;
• 1 tbsp. l. poppy;
• a packet of baking powder;
• 3 tbsp. l. raisins, dried cherries, cranberries.

Preparation:

1. Take a convenient bowl and sift the flour into it.
2. Add baking powder and granulated sugar.
3. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.
4. Add dried berries and raisins to the dry ingredients.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.
6. Add them to the dry ingredients and knead the dough.
7. We make a roll or loaf from the dough.
8. Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with oiled parchment paper.
9. Preheat the oven to a temperature of 180°.
10. Bake the loaf for about 20 minutes.
11. Then remove the baked goods, cool and cut into equal slices.
12. Place the cookies back on the baking sheet and put them in the oven for another 10 minutes.
13. Let's not forget to turn the Biscotti over after five minutes.

For connoisseurs of gourmet pastries

How else can you prepare Biscotti? The recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya, a beautiful woman, an amazing mother and a professional cook, will help you improve your personal pastry skills.

Yulia Vysotskaya proposed a modified recipe for making Biscotti cookies. By the way, many housewives have already tried it. As for additives, you can choose any dried fruit based on your personal taste preferences. Cinnamon will add a special aroma to baked goods.

Compound:

• wheat flour – 1 tbsp.;
• corn flour – 150 g;
• vanilla, cinnamon powder - to taste;
• 3 pcs. chicken eggs;
• granulated sugar – 1 tbsp;
• baking soda – 2-3 tsp;
• 30 ml lemon juice (freshly squeezed);
• chocolate, dried fruits, nuts to taste.

Preparation:

1. Place selected dried fruits, for example, dates, prunes, dried apricots, raisins, figs, in a bowl.
2. Pour boiling water over them and leave for 20 minutes.
3. Drain the liquid from the steamed dried fruits and chop them with a knife.
4. Grind the nuts in a blender.
5. Pour granulated sugar and sifted flour into a deep bowl.
6. Quench the baking soda with freshly squeezed lemon juice and add to the bulk ingredients.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.
8. Add cinnamon powder and vanilla to the egg mixture.
9. Combine both mixtures and knead the dough. It should be viscous and moderately thick.
10. Add chopped nuts and dried fruits.
11. Mix the base thoroughly again.
12. Next, we proceed in the already known way. First bake the sausage from the dough.
13. Then we cut it into slices or strips and dry it in the oven so that the cookies acquire a golden crust and crispness.