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Almost everyone I know loves biscotti, that wonderful, traditional, Italian cookie that you can use as dessert, or give your kids a little gift, or sit around the table with friends, sipping a glass of wine and gobbling up the biscotti that you?re dipping into the wine as you sit and talk. Here?s a traditional Italian recipe for biscotti that was given to me by an old friend of mine, Aurora Sallito.

Aurora Sallito?s Biscotti

2 cups flour
2 TSP Baking powder
2 TBLS Anise Seed
3/4 cup Chopped Almonds, blanched and slightly roasted
1 TBLS citrus Zest (shredded)
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 Cube Butter (melted)
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Jigger Triple Sec (orange Liquor)

The Process

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the liquids in a smaller bowl. (The melted butter should have been allowed to cool.) Start by beating the eggs and gradually add the other ingredients. Then add the liquids to the dry, stirring until you have a soft dough. No kneading or pounding is necessary. Put the dough into you refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm it. Form firmed dough into loaves about 3/4 inches high, 2 inches wide and about 12 inches long. Place apart on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350? oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. With a serrated knife, slice the loaves diagonally into 5/8 inch slices. Place your baking sheets back into your hot oven and bake each side about 10 minuntes. Place on drying racks and allow to cool.

NOTE: Suit youself about ingrediants and proportions. One of my favorites is using candied orange peel and pistachio nuts.

ANOTHER NOTE: To blanch almonds: Cover them with boiling water and let stand for five minutes. Allow them to cool enough so that you can handle them, and squeeze their skins off.

To toast- Place the almonds on a cookie sheet and put into a cold oven. When heat reaches 350?, allow to roast about 10 minutes stirring occasionaly. Keep an eye on them so they won?t burn.

ENJOY!!!

[tags]Biscotti recipe, recipe, cookie recipe[/tags]

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