chocolate pecan biscotti

(originally published dec 20, 2011)

i have never been a huge fan of biscotti. i think it’s because people always put trail mix in it - dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, etc. yick. i don’t mind those things in TRAIL MIX, but not in something as cookieish as biscotti. gawd, people.

okay, end rant.

so, my family likes their coffee. a LOT. i thought it would be fun to make something to go with it. this is the sort of thing i would have once a month, but having family and friends around for christmas means there are more people to share the biscotti-eating burden (it’s a hard life!)

 

i have to say, i am really happy with how it turned out. not too sweet, just hard enough, nice and chocolatey. it only took me about 10 minutes of prep for each batch (i actually made 1 with pecans and 1 with peanuts)

ingredients:

1/4 c butter
1/3 c sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1 t baking powder*
1 egg
3/4 c flour
1/3 c pecans (or peanuts, or whatever floats your boat)

to make:

cream butter and sugar, then add cocoa powder, baking powder and egg.

finally, add flour, then nuts. stir until just mixed.

on a floured cookie sheet, pat out into a 9” by 5” square (i found oiled hands worked best)

bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean)

cut into 18 1/2” slices (i found a sharp bread knife was best).

lay the slices out on the pan and bake at 325 for 9 minutes, then flip them over, and bake 7-9 minutes more.

after pulling them out of the oven, allow them to cool completely on a wire rack, then keep them in an air-tight container!

*i actually forgot to add the baking powder to the pecan ones - i was in a hurry… and i have to say that i kind of prefer how they turned out. i left it in the recipe because it does make a more traditional biscotti, but when i make it in the future i don’t think i’ll use any. i found the ones with baking powder were a little harder to handle while baking, they just didn’t hold together as well. once they were all baked and dry though, they were fine.

comparison (no baking powder on top):