Chai Biscotti
Cookies for breakfast or anytime of day! Crispy and sweet, dip into tea, coffee or, as the Tuscans do, dip into sweet red wines like Marsala and Vin Santo. A little more time-consuming than my usual recipes, but worth every second.
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease two cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Beat together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl until well-blended. Don’t overbeat the eggs or overmix.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, star anise and salt. Sifting the ingredients together help avoid the hard middle in biscotti.
Slowly stir into egg mixture to form a heavy dough. It will look dry.
Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper and dust with a little flour. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if you have time as the dough will be sticky.
Divide dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a log the length of a cookie sheet. Place one log on each of the prepared sheets; and press dough down to 1/2-inch thickness.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown for 30-35 minutes, turning the cookie sheet half way thru baking. Transfer logs to wire racks; let cool for 10 minutes. You want the biscotti warm, but not hot or else it will crumble when you cut into it.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
In a sawing motion with a serrated knife, slice each log crosswise into about eighteen 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices cut-sides up back on the cookie sheets.
Bake until lightly toasted and golden brown, 6 to 10 minutes per side. Because they are baked twice, biscotti are hard and crisp. If the biscotti are too soft the cookies may not baked for long enough the second time.
Glaze or dip (optional) - For a glaze, mix powdered sugar, milk, and a teaspoon of the chai spice blend (cardamon, cinnamon, clove, ginger). Or dip into melted chocolate, then crushed almonds (as pictured)!
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks or wrap in an airtight container and store them in the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
83 Calories | 3g Fat | 12g Carbs | 1g Protein