Christmas is Cookie Season
Once upon a Sunday in December, three girls drank a pot of spicy mulled wine, listened to cheesy Christmas music, and baked gingerbread, almond biscotti (recipe given below), Italian ‘pizzelle’, and shortbread.
Best Almond Biscotti Recipe 2 cups of all-purpose flour
2/3 cup of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into bits
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup of whole almonds1. Preheat oven to 350 F, line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles corase meal. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extract. Pulse just to blend. transfer to a bowl. Lightly knead in almonds.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a 10 inch log about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place logs 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet
4. Bake until logs begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to touch on a wire rack.
5. Raise oven temperature to 400 F. Transfer logs to a cutting board. Using a very sharp chef’s knife, cut each log into 18 equal slices. Lay slices cut side down on same baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Turn oven off and turn cookies over. Return to oven until golden and crisp, 10-15 minutes. When cool, store in an airtight container.
Tags: baking, biscotti, christmas, cookie press, cookie recipe, gingerbread, icing sugar, Italian pizzelle, nevelli, shortbread