Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti
Got any plans for the weekend? If you ❤️chocolate and almonds as much as I do, I think you should find the time to whip up a batch of these wonderful Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti. Honestly, what could be more important?!!
I’ve baked a lot of chocolate biscotti over the years with varying degrees of success—some have been too dry or not chocolate-y enough or too much work what with the double bakes and all, so I’ve never included a recipe for them here on the site, but that stops now. These hit the jackpot in every respect!
First off, they are not too sweet and instead ALL ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE! That’s because the base of these cookies has both cocoa powder and chopped bittersweet chocolate and you mix a generous amount of chopped chocolate into the batter before baking. So every bite is a chocolate lover’s dream!
And unlike some biscotti which are rock hard or too crumbly, these somehow manage to strike just the right balance between crunchy and chewy, which unfortunately makes them irresistible! Lol!
They’re surprisingly easy to make too! Even with the double bake! If the thought of making biscotti seems intimidating, I want you to put that silly little notion right out of your head now. I promise you can do it! Here’s how:
After you prepare the batter, you divide it into 3 equal-ish parts.
Next, you roll each piece into a long log, transfer to a baking sheet and flatten slightly, brushing the logs with beaten egg white and sprinkling with sanding sugar in the process.
After the first bake, you let the logs sit for bit to firm up—
And then use a serrated knife to cut them into cookies.
Now it’s smooth sailing—you place the cookies back onto the baking tray, return them to the oven and let them cook again to dry out some more.
That’s it! You’ve got the perfect dunkable treat! Chocolate, almonds, and a light, airy chewy crunch!! YUM! And they last too—at least a week—that is, if you can exercise any measure of self control.
So…forget about all those weekend chores like shopping and laundry and instead, use your time more wisely baking up Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti. C’mon people, let’s get our priorities straight!
Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti
Makes about 4 dozen
You will need a food processor for this.
Prep Time: 15 minutes; 1st Bake: 23-25 minutes; 2nd Bake: 10-12 minutes
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate, divided
8 ounces blanched slivered almonds (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Demerara or sanding sugar for sprinkling on top of cookies
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Into the large bowl of a food processor, place the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, half of the chopped chocolate and the almonds and pulse them together until the nuts and chips are roughly the size of peas.
3. Use an electric mixed fitted with the whisk attachment if you have one (if not, regular beaters are fine, it might just take a little longer) and beat the eggs and 1 ½ cups of sugar together on medium-high speed for a few minutes until the mixture thickens and lightens in color and you can see ribbon like trails when you lift the beater. Now switch to the paddle attachment (or just keep using regular beaters) and on low speed add the flour mixture and remaining chocolate and beat just until combined. The mixture will be stiff and sticky.
4. Lightly flour a board or counter and turn the dough out onto it. Divide it into 3 equal pieces and shape each piece into a log, roughly 18 inches in length—it’s ok if they’re not all equal in length. You may need to flour your hands a little to keep the dough from sticking to them. Carefully transfer each log to the prepared sheet, placing them on the diagonal. Use the palm of your hand to flatten them a little. Brush each log with a little of the egg white and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
5. Bake in the center of the oven, rotating the pan back to front at the halfway mark, for about 23-25 minutes, until the tops of the log are just firm to the touch. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let sit for 20 minutes.
6. Place the logs on a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut ¾-inch slices on the diagonal. Place the biscotti cut side up on the sheet you used to bake them on for the first bake (it’s ok if they’re a little crowded) and bake for about 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until firm to the touch and almost dry. Let biscotti cool completely on the pan on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. I subbed almonds for hazelnuts and used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet and simplified some of the baking methods.
