Tired of Chocolate Chip Cookies? Try Chocolate Biscotti!

A huge box of biscotti somehow found its way into my shopping cart at Costco, and soon after I got home every adult in the house was standing next to it.  Maybe the see-through packaging was too inviting to ignore.  Within a few days the box of 20 individually wrapped 8-inch-long biscotti was empty.

That’s when I remembered that some years ago I made my own biscotti—using cocoa powder--and then dipped them in chocolate.  I stopped making biscotti because we ate too much of it.

For those who never heard of biscotti, they are dried sticks of cookie dough that people like to dip into their coffee, tea or other drink to soften up.  Or they eat as is.  Biscotti are baked twice to achieve their crunchy state.  A thick coating of chocolate provides some softness, but biscotti are prone to leave crumbs.

My original recipe called for a cup of toasted almonds to be mixed into the dough, and that worked well enough.  But I didn’t like the flavor.  So I left them out when I made the next batch.  Instead I added more chocolate coating. 

The biscotti box is empty again.  Maybe I’ll wait a few weeks before filling it up.

Chocolate Biscotti – makes 30-40 biscotti (adapted from “Chocolate on the Brain”)  

1 teaspoon canola oil for greasing baking sheet

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Set out a baking sheet and rub it with the canola oil.  Set aside. 

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for about 15 seconds or with a wooden spoon until well blended.  The dough will be very thick and slightly sticky. 

Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Place the logs on the cookie sheet as far apart as possible and then flatten them so they are each about 3 inches wide.  Wet your hands, if necessary, to do the flattening.  Bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees. 

Using a metal spatula, transfer 1 log to a large cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the log at a 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch slices.  Lay each slice, cut side up, on the baking sheet.  Repeat with the other log.  If the baking sheet isn’t big enough to hold all the slices, use a second sheet or brownie pan.  They do not need to be greased. 

Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake the biscotti for 10-15 minutes.  The longer they bake, the drier they become.  Turn the biscotti over and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. 

Melt the chocolate chips in a heavy frying pan over low heat.  When the chocolate is almost melted, turn off the heat but keep stirring until all the chips have melted.  With a spoon, spread chocolate on 1/3 of one surface of each biscotti and set them carefully, melted chocolate side up, on a large plate or the baking sheet.  Or cover the whole surface of each biscotti with melted chocolate.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until the melted chocolate hardens.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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