Fennel Biscotti Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why is my biscotti not crispy? ›

If your biscotti are too soft then it is likely that the cookies were not baked for long enough second time around. If your biscotti slices are around 1/2cm/1/4 inch thick then they should only need around 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 180c/350F to dry out sufficiently.

For softer cookies, simply bake them for a little less time than the recipe specifies.

Biscotti is a twice-baked cookie with roots that go all the way back to ancient Rome. Initially, these incredibly crunchy cookies were made to sustain the Roman soldiers while they were away for extended periods of time. Since the cookies were already hard and crunchy, there was no risk of them spoiling.

While some recipes use oil, I like to use butter for a better flavor and texture. Use unsalted, softened (not melty!) butter. Sugar. Since they are cookies, biscotti should be sweet!

How to Store Biscotti: Maximize Crunch & Prevent Soft Biscotti. To store biscotti, keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. Lining the container with a paper towel will help soak up any excess moisture that finds its way in.

You guessed it, add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Fold in the pistachios, cardamom, and vanilla extract. Because the dough can be sticky and hard to form, it's important to chill the batter for a good 30 minutes before baking the first time.

Baking soda – baking soda helps the biscotti rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn't expired. Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.

Most baked goods need a leavening agent to make them rise, and if you leave it out, your cake or your cookies will fall flat. Baking powder makes dough rise because it contains both a base and an acid in dried form.

The trickiest parts of making them are the mixing and the shaping and baking. Just like biscuits, you can't overmix the dough. I found that if the dough is mixed too much, the biscotti becomes dense and heavy.

If it feels firm but still gives a bit when you poke it, take it out for rather soft-textured but still crunchy biscotti.

Why do my biscotti crumble when I cut them? ›

A: Overbaking the logs of dough during the first baking can make the slices crumble as you are cutting them. Also, even if the logs of dough are perfectly baked, they will crumble if they are sliced while still warm, so be patient. The logs crumble when you use a dull knife, too.

Here it is, a biscotti recipe everyone can enjoy — unlike classic Italian biscotti, which are quite hard, these are light and crunchy. Biscotti bake twice rather than once, and thus take a bit longer start-to-finish than normal drop cookies.

Since they are very dry, biscotti traditionally are served with a drink into which they may be dunked. In Italy, they are typically served as an after-dinner dessert with a Tuscan fortified wine called Vin Santo. Outside of Italy, they more frequently accompany coffee, including cappuccinos and lattes, or black tea.

If the dough contains melted chocolate or other ingredients that make it sticky and hard to handle, simply refrigerate for at least an hour so it hardens more before kneading and shaping.

To make these cookies, start by whipping eggs and a couple of extra egg yolks together with sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. This step is key to making biscotti that are crisp but not hard. Get the mixture very pale, thick, and airy. All that air will help lighten the biscotti.