Warning: Biscotti are meant to be dunked in a warm beverage, such as coffee or tea. Otherwise they are VERY hard on your teeth.Ingredients:
1 tbsp anise seeds, crushed
1 tbsp anisette (anise flavoured liqueur)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional & very mange cake, I know, but I love the flavour)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease large cookie sheet. In medium bowl, combine anise seeds & anisette; let stand 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, chopped almonds (I roasted my almonds on an ungreased baking sheet at 325 F for 5 minutes and then pulsed them few times in the food processor---you want the chunks nice and big), baking powder, salt & cinammon if using. With wire whisk, beat eggs into anise mixture. With wooden spoon, stir egg mixture into flour mixture until blended. Divide dough in half. On prepared cookie sheet, with floured hands, shape each half into a 15 inch log, placing them 3 inches apart (dough will be sticky). Now, the fact is that my dough was NOT sticky & this worried me a bit, but I managed to make the two logs without floured hands---also, my logs were only about 12 inches long and although this recipe is supposed to be for about 60 biscotti, I only got about 24! But they were fabulous & probably a bit thicker than what the recipe called for, so no harm done.
3. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet on wire rack, then transfer logs to cutting board. With serrated knife, cut each log crosswise on diagonal into scant 1/2 inch thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, on two ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes, turning slices over once and rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. With spatula, transfer biscotti to wire rack to cool.
