Printable Recipe: Italian Nut and Currant Biscotti Recipee

Italian Nut and Currant Biscotti Recipe

When most people think about the best Italian cookie recipes, Biscotti often comes to mind. One of the reasons that Biscotti is such a great treat is that it offers bakers a chance to play with a variety of flavors. Biscotti can be sweet or savory, have nuts or fruit, and just makes a great addition to any dessert tray.

All About Biscotti. Biscotti as we know it originated in Rome where it was called biscotto (literally "twice cooked"). At this point Biscotti wasn't so much a sweet as it was a functional food to take on the road. Being dry, the wafers lasted nearly forever, which is why the Roman Legions used them as a staple.

When bakers in Tuscany started making Biscotti, they added a twist ? serving the cookie with sweet wine. This tradition remains to this day, with the alternative being enjoying them with coffee.

Ingredients:
1/4 C. cooking oil
3/4 C. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 C. flour (sifted)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C. dried currants
1 1/2 C. coarsely chopped nuts (your choice)

Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using a mixing bowl and an electric mixer, combine the oil with the sugar.

2. Once that's blended add vanilla and almond, followed by the eggs (pre-beaten).

3. Next, mix together all the dry ingredients but for the currants and nuts. Using a wooden spoon, slowly add this to the liquid portion of the recipe. Fold the fruit and nuts in by hand.

4. Create two logs from the cookie dough and put them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 35 minutes at 300 degrees (the logs will be light brown). Cool for 15 minutes. While you do that, reduce the heat of your oven to 275 degrees.

6. Slice the logs into finger sized pieces (3/4" thick is good). Lay each piece on its side and return them to the oven to cook for about 10 minutes more (until completely dry).

HINT: One reason this is one of the best Italian cookie recipes? Flexibility. You can use different dried fruit in this recipe ? in fact it's traditional! Nearly every region of Italy has its own version of Biscotti, each one flavored in a unique way.