We have been eating biscotti daily for the past two weeks. It's been so cold and it sure is comforting to dip these delicious cookies into a hot mug of tea. The original recipe called for anise seed. When I baked these for the first time I only had fennel seed so substituted them in the recipe. We tried the recipe several times with both anise seed and fennel seed. Both taste great but we are partial to the fennel seed. The fennel seed seems to enhance the almond flavor and increase the perfume of the cookie. Anise or fennel seed, these cookies are delicious and very easy to make. You don't even need to pull out your mixer. Love recipes that are mixed in a bowl with a large wooden spoon. ;)
Fennel Seed and Almond
Biscotti
Adapted from a December
1999 Bon Appetit recipe
3 ¼ cups all-purpose
flour
1 Tablespoon baking
powder
a scant ½ teaspoon
salt
1 ½ cups sugar
10 tablespoons
unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
extract
2 teaspoons fennel
seeds, semi-ground
1 ¼ cups whole
almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped (see How to Toast Nuts, here)
1 large egg white
Preheat oven to
350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment
paper. To grind fennel seed cover with parchment paper and using rolling pin apply pressure while rolling over parchment. Sift flour, baking powder and
salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, and
ground fennel seeds in large bowl – mix by stirring with a wooden spoon or
large spatula. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon
until well blended. Mix in almonds.
Divide dough in half
and place dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape each dough half into 13 1/2-inch-long,
2 1/2-inch-wide log. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over top
and sides of each dough log.
Bake logs until golden
brown (logs will spread), about 30 minutes.
Cool logs on sheet on
rack, about 25 minutes.
Transfer logs to work
surface; using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices.
Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Turn
biscotti over; bake until just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Transfer
to rack and cool.
