Hazelnut and Coffee Biscotti Recipe
Crunchy hazelnut and coffee biscotti is deeply flavored but light and crisp at the same time. These cookies keep well for a few weeks, and they're a welcome gift during the holidays.
Servings: 80
Calories: 40kcal
Ingredients
- 2½ cup all-purpose flour plain flour
- 1 cup superfine sugar caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee powder or espresso powder
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 eggs large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hazelnuts skinned (see notes for how to skin if you can only buy skin-on nuts)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C (for my regular readers, that's no steam today!). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the center.2½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup superfine sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp fine salt
- Tip the coffee powder into the melted butter and give it a stir so the coffee can start to dissolve.1 Tbsp instant coffee powder, ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- Break the eggs into the well and add vanilla and the coffee/butter mixture. Using a fork, whisk the wet ingredients together, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients as you go.2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Once the mixture begins to come together, swap the fork for a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon. Tip in the hazelnuts and continue mixing to incorporate all the ingredients together. I usually switch to using my hands once it gets too hard to mix, which has the added benefit of not breaking up the nuts too much.1 cup hazelnuts
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide evenly into four portions.
- Roll each portion into a skinny log, about an inch (2.5cm) in diameter. If any of the hazelnuts pop out just poke them back in and smooth the dough over the top so they don't burn in the oven later.
- Place logs onto the lined baking sheet and bake until they're just firm, slightly puffy and light golden, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool until you can handle, about 10-15 minutes. Reduce your oven temperature to 300°F/150°C.
- While the biscotti logs are still warm, cut them into even slices about 3/8 inch (1cm) thick. To get the cleanest cuts, use a sharp serrated knife and make a little sawing-motion cut into the top of the log, then press sharply down on the knife to finish the cut. You should get about 20 slices from each log.
- Arrange the sliced cookies back on the baking sheet (you may need to add another sheet to have room, or do this in batches) and return to the oven until they feel dry and only very slightly soft when pressed with a fingertip, about 10-15 minutes. They'll crisp up as they cool.
- Cool the biscotti on a wire rack and store in an airtight container, or package in little clear bags for gifting.
Video
Notes
- Coffee powder. You can use a good espresso powder or instant coffee powder in this recipe. Your other option is very finely ground coffee from fresh beans. After trying every different way I prefer the espresso powder route for depth of flavor.
- Hazelnuts. I want to stress the importance of buying nuts from somewhere with high turnover; stale hazelnuts in particular taste bitter, without the beautiful sweetness and aroma of fresh ones. I get skinned hazelnuts at my local bulk foods store, but if you can only buy skin-on hazelnuts, toast them in a moderate (dry) oven for about 10 minutes, then pop them into a folded over tea towel and rub the skins off before using them in the recipe.
- To maintain freshness, store your biscotti in an airtight container, where they'll keep well for a couple of weeks. If they become a little soft, which they can do in humid climates, pop them into the oven for 5 minutes to refresh and dry them out again. For longer storage, I seal biscotti cookies in a vacuum bag (do NOT vacuum seal them, just heat-seal the edge of the bag to make it airtight!). I put the sealed bag into the freezer, where they keep for months. Thaw on the counter before opening the bag.
Nutrition
Calories: 40kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.3mg
