Skinny* Mini Biscotti

I recently had the opportunity to provide some sweets for an event hosted by a good friend and Nashville mover-and-shaker. Matt Dudley is the owner of The Skillery – a web-based venue that connects experts with potential students for continued learning opportunities [think : handmade pasta, [smartphone] app building, cloth diapering 101, etc.].

Given that I was tasked with providing some coffee break treats, I decided to forgo my usual whoopie pie / cookie sandwich combo. Instead, I baked up a variety of delicious biscotti – perfect for dunking in the coffee provided by Beve!

My first foray into biscotti was inspired by my friend Sarah’s post sharing her recipe for a vanilla-almond flavored version of the treat. After receiving encouragement + support from Lindsay [Love and Olive Oil] and Julie [The Little Kitchen] once I read their recipes + watched the video they shared of their biscotti-baking, I also made some riffs off of their versions. To round out the variety provided for the event, I baked a cocoa-based biscotti inspired by a classic Martha Stewart recipe.

Believe me when I say that you have no need to be intimidated by biscotti! It is a terribly forgiving baked good. Because it is baked twice and is meant to be crunchy, crispy + crumbly and dunked in a hot cup of coffee, you’ve got a lot of give when it comes to texture and bake time. So pick a favorite flavor combination below, and bake up some biscotti!

…and when you do, come back here and let me know how it went. I would love to know!

xo,

@

PS – read a recap of the first Nashville Creativity Summit here.

PPS – * “skinny” refers to the fact that I sliced the biscotti rather thinly, not that these biscotti are low in calorie. because they’re not.

Now, for the biscotti!

*Please note that I adapted these recipes to make “skinny mini” biscotti. Each piece was about 3″ long and about 1/2-3/4″ wide. I wanted small treats so that the conference attendees could sample a few different flavors without getting full.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip

adapted from Love and Olive Oil‘s Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti

yield : approximately 36-40 skinny mini biscotti

Ingredients

1/4 cup [1/2 stick] unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated cane sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 TBSP orange zest [from 1 large orange]

1 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted + 1 tsp shortening [optional – for prime chocolate dippage]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. Measure and whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl so ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy [2 to 3 minutes]. Add eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. Mix in orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract.

4. Finally, add flour mixture to wet ingredients, in 2 to 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Divide dough in four equal[ish] pieces [I found this easiest to do by weighing the entire batch on a scale and splitting it into four smaller batches]. Shape each of the smaller batches into a 3 1/2 or 4-inch-by-7 to 8-inch log. [note: If your dough is sticky, it doesn’t hurt to wet your hands and shake of the excess water before returning to shaping the dough]

6. Shape two logs per baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between logs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

7. When biscotti is cool enough to handle [about 10 minutes], cut each log into 8-10 slices using a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides facing up, on the same cookie sheet, and bake for another 14 minutes, flipping cookies and rotating sheets halfway through.

8. Let cool [another 10 minutes], then transfer to an airtight container to store. Know that the biscotti will lose a little bit of their ‘snap’ by keeping them airtight. Biscotti will keep for up to a week, room temperature.

Optional dippage : Melt chocolate and shortening. Dip bottoms of biscotti in melted chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until chocolate has hardened.

Meyer Lemon White Chocolate

adapted from The Little Kitchen‘s Meyer Lemon and White Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients

1/4 cup [1/2 stick] unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated cane sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 TBSP Meyer lemon zest [from 2 Meyer lemons]

2 TBSP freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup white chocolate chips, chopped

4 oz white chocolate, melted + 1 tsp shortening [optional – for prime chocolate dippage]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. Measure and whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl so ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy [2 to 3 minutes]. Add eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. Mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4. Finally, add flour mixture to wet ingredients, in 2 to 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in chopped chocolate chips.

5. Divide dough in four equal[ish] pieces [I found this easiest to do by weighing the entire batch on a scale and splitting it into four smaller batches]. Shape each of the smaller batches into a 3 1/2 or 4-inch-by-7 to 8-inch log. [note: If your dough is sticky, it doesn’t hurt to wet your hands and shake of the excess water before returning to shaping the dough]

6. Shape two logs per baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between logs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

7. When biscotti is cool enough to handle [about 10 minutes], cut each log into 8-10 slices using a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides facing up, on the same cookie sheet, and bake for another 14 minutes, flipping cookies and rotating sheets halfway through.

8. Let cool [another 10 minutes], then transfer to an airtight container to store. Know that the biscotti will lose a little bit of their ‘snap’ by keeping them airtight. Biscotti will keep for up to a week, room temperature.

Optional dippage : Melt chocolate and shortening. Dip bottoms of biscotti in melted chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until chocolate has hardened.

Vanilla Bean

inspired by Sarah’s Joys‘ Vanilla Bean Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

1/4 cup [1/2 stick] unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated cane sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large [length-wise], plump vanilla beans – caviar scraped

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz white or dark chocolate, melted + 1 tsp shortening [optional – for prime chocolate dippage]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. Measure and whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl so ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy [2 to 3 minutes]. Add eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. Mix in vanilla extract and vanilla bean caviar.

4. Finally, add flour mixture to wet ingredients, in 2 to 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated.

5. Divide dough in four equal[ish] pieces [I found this easiest to do by weighing the entire batch on a scale and splitting it into four smaller batches]. Shape each of the smaller batches into a 3 1/2 or 4-inch-by-7 to 8-inch log. [note: If your dough is sticky, it doesn’t hurt to wet your hands and shake of the excess water before returning to shaping the dough]

6. Shape two logs per baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between logs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

7. When biscotti is cool enough to handle [about 10 minutes], cut each log into 8-10 slices using a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides facing up, on the same cookie sheet, and bake for another 14 minutes, flipping cookies and rotating sheets halfway through.

8. Let cool [another 10 minutes], then transfer to an airtight container to store. Know that the biscotti will lose a little bit of their ‘snap’ by keeping them airtight. Biscotti will keep for up to a week, room temperature.

Optional dippage : Melt chocolate and shortening. Dip bottoms of biscotti in melted chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until chocolate has hardened.

Cocoa-Almond-Hazelnut Biscotti

adapted from Martha Stewart‘s Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

1/4 cup [1/2 stick] unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated cane sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

4 oz dark chocolate, melted + 1 tsp shortening [optional – for prime chocolate dippage]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2. Measure and whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl so ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy [2 to 3 minutes]. Add eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts.

4. Finally, add flour mixture to wet ingredients, in 2 to 3 batches, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in chopped hazelnuts.

5. Divide dough in four equal[ish] pieces [I found this easiest to do by weighing the entire batch on a scale and splitting it into four smaller batches]. Shape each of the smaller batches into a 3 1/2 or 4-inch-by-7 to 8-inch log. [note: If your dough is sticky, it doesn’t hurt to wet your hands and shake of the excess water before returning to shaping the dough]

6. Shape two logs per baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between logs. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

7. When biscotti is cool enough to handle [about 10 minutes], cut each log into 8-10 slices using a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides facing up, on the same cookie sheet, and bake for another 10 minutes, flipping cookies and rotating sheets halfway through.

8. Let cool [another 10 minutes], then transfer to an airtight container to store. Know that the biscotti will lose a little bit of their ‘snap’ by keeping them airtight. Biscotti will keep for up to a week, room temperature.

Optional dippage : Melt chocolate and shortening. Dip bottoms of biscotti in melted chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until chocolate has hardened.

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