Grace – Twitter The Print Makers Bakery
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Word and photos by Grace

I am a huge fan of tea, a proper cup of tea, and having a sweet tooth means I always need to have my sugar fix whilst having a cuppa. So I wanted to try out my first biscuit recipe, so biscotti was the one. These crunchy, sweet Italian treats are ones I love to bake and eat! The dough is baked in a log, then cut up into slices and baked again so they dry and crisp up, hence the name biscotti, which means ‘twice cooked’. There are plenty of different flavours you can add, but I prefer to stick with loads of almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and sometimes raisins to add some chewyness. These yummy biscuits go down well with a good cuppa tea or coffee.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 250g caster sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 3 medium free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 100g whole almonds, chopped
• 100g whole hazelnuts, shells removed (shelled weight)
• 100g walnuts, chopped
• 50g raisins/sultanas
• 1 lemon, zest only

Method

1. For the biscotti, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl until well combined.
3. Whisk in half of the beaten eggs until well combined. Gradually add the remaining beaten egg, a little at a time, making sure all of the egg has been fully incorporated into the mixture before adding more, until the mixture comes together as a dough.
4. Add the almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins/sultanas and lemon zest and mix well.
5. Divide the dough into six equal portions. Roll each portion into a sausage shape about 3cm in diameter, using your hands. Gently flatten each portion of dough with the palm of your hand.
6. Place each dough ‘sausage’ onto the prepared baking tray, leaving a 6cm gap between each portion of dough to allow for expansion. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until pale golden-brown.
7. Remove the ‘sausages’ from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool and firm up.
8. Using a serrated knife, cut 5cm thick slices from the dough ‘sausages’ on the diagonal. Arrange the slices onto the lined baking tray and return them to the oven for a further 6-8 minutes.
9. Turn the biscotti over and continue to bake for 6-8 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.