Almond Biscotti

Unlike most people these days, I have a habit of always eating "breakfast" with my coffee. This can be anything from cereal, oatmeal, eggs, donuts, pastries, etc. Pretty much anything so that the coffee doesn't go down on an empty stomach. With age, I've become more and more lactose intolerant leading me to avoid cereal on a regular basis. Also, since I've been home (unemployed) for the past 2 years or so, I've not been getting breakfast sandwiches, pasties, donuts, the unhealthy stuff one might normally grab at a deli or on the way to work.

Long story short, I noticed for the past few months that I was having oatmeal raisin granola bars. Now this may sound ok...healthy even, but not so much. Its actually quite a bit of sugar, preservatives and other things along with all the good stuff. So I recently decided to make a batch of almond biscotti to see how it might fit in. Its actually very simple to make, very few ingredients used and no preservative or artificial ingredients. I found this recipe online and made a few changes. The recipe I found also said that it would yield 42 biscotti... I was able to make about 30.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar (I use raw sugar/unrefined)
3 eggs
1 tsp almond extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking POWDER
pinch of salt
1/2 cup fine chopped or chunky ground almonds
~2 tsp milk

Preheat your oven to 375F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a different bowl cream the butter and sugar until light in color. Add the eggs one at a time and mixing well. Add the extracts while stirring the mix and then quickly combine the dry ingredients. Once mixed well, add in the almonds and mix again. Separate the mix into two parts. On a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper, lightly greased...spread 1/2 the batter out into a loaf type shape about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. Repeat with the other half of the batter. You will have two loafs on one sheet. Lightly brush the tops of each loaf with milk. Bake these for 15 to 20min or until firm to the touch.

Remove tray from the oven and reduce oven to 300F, after a few minutes move the loaves (with the parchment paper) on to a wire rack. After 10 to 15 minutes cut the each loaf (at an angle) in to about 1/2 or 3/4 inch biscotti. Lay them cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 10 min. Flip to the other side (top side down) and bake for another 10 min. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container after they've cooled completely.

These will keep for some time in an airtight container... I made these about a week or more ago and they're still pretty fresh tasting. They also go very well with my coffee in the morning! I hope you'll try these...they're great to make and store since it yields a decent quantity and are great on the run as well!

As always, happy baking!!! I will take some snap shots soon and post them.