I know, I know. I really shouldn't make things from Dorie's book out of turn, but I just had to. You see, I have a problem. It's called the bulk bins at my local grocery store. They're, umm... there. And really well stocked. With all sorts of fun and yummy looking items. Which is how I ended up at home with a couple cups worth of hazelnuts and nowhere to put them. So I stuck them in the freezer to hang out, and began digging. First I thought of making some sort of homemade Nutella, but that didn't work out so well last time. Evidently, my silly little Cuisinart mini-prep doesn't have the oomph to do Nutella justice. Then on to gianduja gelato, or hazelnut shortbread, or any number of tasty tasty baked goods. But none of them sounded quite right.
That's when I just sighed, hauled out my trusty Baking from my home to yours, and began perusing (isn't peruse a wonderful verb?). These jumped out at me, mostly because I was already planning on making those cinnamon pecan biscotti (and yes, this was before anyone chose the almond biscotti for TWD). Brilliant idea - halve both recipes, have tremendous amounts of biscotti and variety to them too! I know, sometimes I amaze even myself.
They came together easily, with just one little sub - I put cacao nibs in instead of chocolate chunks. I wouldn't suggest it, because the nibs just get lost in the crush. Go with chocolate. Melty, tasty chocolate. Just like the almond biscotti, these spread like crazy - they almost spread into my cinnamon pecan biscotti! Luckily, I'm not in the can't-let-foods-touch-other-foods camp, but it was a close call nonetheless. Richer and softer than the KAF biscotti, these aren't dunking biscotti. They're almost a normal cookie, actually, although still quite tasty. Good, but probably not a member of my biscotti rotation because, well, they aren't biscotti-like enough for me. Maybe if you baked them a little longer. I'd be tempted, because I can imagine that dunking these in hot chocolate would be killer.
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup cacao nibs
sugar, for dusting
Directions
Center a rack in the ovena nd preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Cream together the butter and sugar; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and beat for a minute or two; don't worry if the mixture looks curdled. Mix in the dry ingredients just until they disappear. Mix in the chopped hazelnuts and cacao nibs.
Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, pat the dough into logs 12 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch high. Either do this on the baking sheet (like I did), or shape on the counter and then carefully transfer to the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.
Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack - and that's just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack, and cool the logs for about 20 minutes.
Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet - you'll have an army of biscotti - and bake the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.
Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.
Makes about 40 cookies.
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