
Starbucks... Coffeebean...TCC... i simply love spending time at cafes. A cold and refreshing cup of mocha frappucino makes my day anytime. Hee... but Starbucks remains my favourite thus far.
Besides loving coffee and cafes, I love the display of cakes and those huge dome-shaped muffins. And i always wonder at those elongated stick-like biscotti. But they always seems too pricey for just one/two piece of cookie.
I have attempted biscotti baking once in the past, maybe it's the recipe, but they turned out rock hard. And that puts me off biscotti for awhile until some time back, I decided to give another try, having seen the wonderful pictures.
Mandy gave a wonderful account of how via several trials, she has arrived at her own recipe, and stamped it her favorite biscotti recipe. It was indeed unlike my first attempt. The biscotti was crisp and crunchy. Simply delightful. I used 55% dark chocolate here, breaking it into chunks before adding into the batter. To spice up the chocolate taste, i added some coffee granules and walnut. They were yummy, dunked into some frothy hot latte or coffee. Mmmm...

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti (courtesy of Mandy)
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cups walnut
10 oz dark chocolate chunk
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 eggwhite for glaze (optional), at room temperature
Sanding sugar (or granulated)for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F.Line two large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa,baking soda,salt, 1 cup of chocolate chunks and hazelnut, until chocolate chunks and hazelnuts are the size of peas. *if you don't have a food processor (like me), coarsely chop the nuts and chocolate and sieve the flour.
In a bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the whole eggs, and granulated sugar until the mixture holds a ribbon-like trail on the surface for a few seconds when you raise the whisk.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. When it's well combined, add in the nuts and chocolate and stir by hand, using a large spatula.
Martha Stewart's proper way:
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape each pieces into an 18 inch log. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. With the palm of your hand, gently press the logs to flatten slighlt. Brush egg wash over logs. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if using.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until logs are just firm to the touch, 20-24 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
When the logs are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut biscotti log on the diagonal, into 1/4-inch thick, or if you like, 3/4-inch thick (which is more durable to be send off as care package.
Place a wire rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange slices, cut sides down on the rack.Bake until biscottis are firm to the touch and completely dry. 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove pans from the oven;Let biscottis cool completely on the rack. They can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. I keep them in the freezer when I don't feel like sharing with others. They can be kept there for months.