Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

The story around this biscotti is pretty demonstrative of my life these days. My parents’ anniversary was a little over a month ago, and since I wasn’t going to see them in Connecticut, I thought I would ship them a little treat. Biscotti is a sturdy baked good so I knew it would make the trip well without crumbling apart. But then time flew by and all of a sudden it was the day before their anniversary and there was no biscotti in sight – delivery flowers for the win! Still stuck on this idea of biscotti for my parents, I decided to make them before a trip home a few weeks ago. Nope, too many weeknight plans, late night calls, and no biscotti. But they visited last weekend with my brother and guess what – I had biscotti for them! My life has just been so hectic – not negatively so, but in a fulfilling and fun and spontaneous way. Although I know my mixer may be snubbed at times, I feel compelled to enjoy the vibrant city I live in and not let these two years here go to waste. Thus, posting on a Friday night after another busy week :) But in the end, baking is still my passion, and carving out time in my schedule to make treats like this delicious biscotti for my family is worth it every time. As always, it’s all about balance, and lots of lots of Nutella of course.

Although this is the first biscotti recipe here on the blog, it’s not the first time I’ve made them but for some reason the cranberry pistachio and cinnamon sugar versions from a few years ago never made it to their photo shoot. I really like making biscotti, it’s very rewarding to recreate such a fancy treat that seems so sophisticated. When you buy biscotti at a store every cookie is usually individually wrapped, so it automatically seems classier than your average CCC. This flavor combo ended up being a no-brainer since I wanted to do something with nuts because I knew it would add a nice crunch, I’m always looking for an excuse to buy another jar of Nutella, and after my Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake pleased my Dad (and Grandma) so much, I knew the combo would go over well with the fam once again. So when they all arrived at our apartment in NYC last weekend, I finally had the biscotti prepared and even a cup of coffee to go with it. They actually walked in when I was still photographing these, so I have to give a shout out to my Mom for being the lovely hand model below!

Usually biscotti is pretty easy to make – it’s a little confusing the first time when you’re forming the logs and cutting them, but once you get it down (and look at a post like this one that has photos of the process), it’s quite easy. Of course I made things a bit more difficult today by asking you to separately skin and toast hazelnuts and then dip the finished product in chocolate, but it’s possible to find pre-toasted hazelnuts and you could simply drizzle the chocolate if you want to be less fussy. The recipe I adapted these from claimed they stay good for up to 2 months in an airtight container, which I thought was pretty awesome but I knew they would never last that long in our house anyway. My parents loved them, even belatedly, and I really enjoy treating them each year to celebrate their inspiring relationship. I knew these wouldn’t live up to the photo anniversary cookies I made them a few years ago, but they were still much appreciated and very much devoured.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup hazelnuts, skinned, toasted, and roughly chopped*
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
3 squares semisweet Baker's squares + 1/4 cup Nutella for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the Nutella and beat until well blended. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition as needed. Add the vanilla and beat well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients slowly until just incorporated. Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate and mix with a rubber spatula.

Divide the dough into two and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Squeeze the roll into a roll about 13 inches long and transfer to a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Gently flatten the rolls until they are about 2" wide. Make sure to leave 4" of space between the two rolls.

Bake for 30-35 minutes so they are firm and lightly golden brown. Transfer logs to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. Once they're cooled, use a sharp knife to slice 1/2" pieces on a slight diagonal. Place the sliced biscotti cut side down back onto the cookie sheets and bake them for another 30-40 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

*To make skinning the hazelnuts easier, boil them for a few minutes, then use a towel to rub the skins off. Then dry them with paper towels and toast them in a dry skillet until fragrant and golden brown.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing vigorously between each interval. Once smooth, stir in the Nutella until smooth. Transfer to a shallow bowl and dip the bottoms of each biscotti into the chocolate. Once dipped, place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet until chocolate is set. Biscotti will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Original article and pictures take http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2013/09/chocolate-hazelnut-biscotti.html site