Tasty Tuesday: Baking Almond Biscotti

It's been a long time since I've done a Tasty Tuesday post, hasn't it? I baked a lot over the weekend in preparation for a visit from some very dear friends which got me thinking about Tasty Tuesday. One of the things I made, a foolproof standby, is biscotti. This particular recipe appeals to me because you pat the dough into a 9" x 13" pan. You don't have to shape the dough into a loaf. You don't have to worry about pieces of varying length. Each and every piece is the same size.

This particular recipe is for almond biscotti, but you can change up the flavor by using different mix-ins (I made some suggestions in the recipe itself.) The batch I made was ginger almond (with pieces of candied ginger and sliced almonds).

So here you go. Easy as pie...

ALMOND BISCOTTI

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

5 egg whites (Feel free to use the equivalent amount of dried egg whites, following the directions on the can for the amount of powder and water to use. The powder would go in with the dry ingredients and the water would go in with the extract.)

1 1/4 t. almond or vanilla extract

3 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

2 c. sliced almonds (or use 2 c. of other mix-ins — 1 c. mini chocolate chips and 1 c. sliced almonds or try 1 c. dried cranberries and 1 c. white chocolate chips, etc. Be brave and experiment.)

Heat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13 x 9" baking pan with cooking spray.

Beat sugar and butter until creamy.

Beat in egg whites and extract on high speed, about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add flour and baking powder.

Add almonds.

Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pat evenly into the pan.

Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave oven on.

Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove the finished "cookie" from the pan and transfer it to a cutting surface (like a large cutting board)

Cut the finished "cookie" into 1/3s or 1/4s along the 13" side of the pan (depending on what size you'd like the biscotti). Cut each of these sections crosswise into 1/2" slices.

Place the slices on a large parchment-lined cookie sheet (I like to stand them up because you can get more on the cookie sheet and toast both sides at the same time.)

Bake 15 minutes or until crisp and browned.

Here's a look at the finished product. This is the size you'll get when you cut the large "cookie" into 1/4s.

Anyone free to come have a cup of tea and some biscotti with me? :)

In case you're ever looking for this recipe, or any of my other Tasty Tuesday recipes for that matter, there is now a tab at the top of my home page that lists them all (with links) in alphabetical order. Also, if you try this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Take care and have a sweet day!

Linking to Blooming Homestead's Crafty Tuesday Link Party, 3/19/13.