Cappuccino Biscotti

I’ve got a seemingly endless backlog of Project Pastry Queen and Barefoot Blogger recipes to share with you in the next couple of weeks…and I’m starting you off with some biscotti for PPQ.  With all of the cookies flying around your office, family, and tree-trimming parties this holiday season, biscotti is always a welcome and delightful change, one which always has a “wow” factor that many cookies don’t provide.  Really…how many batches of snickerdoodles can one handle in a holiday season?

I think the conventional thought about biscotti is that they requires a cup of coffee/tea/hot cocoa in order to make them even edible but this biscotti is WAY better than that.  They resemble the texture of a thick cookie with a classic biscotti shape, but they still have just enough crunch and texture to remind you that you’re eating some of the best biscotti ever.  The original recipe called for hazelnuts and Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) but due to Kyle’s allergies, that wasn’t an option for us.  I debated about making them altogether because I didn’t want to just sub in cranberries and white chocolate chips (though I do love that combination), but I ended up conjuring up my own little concoction that I couldn’t be more pleased with…and I know you’ll love it too!  Pure coffee heaven in biscotti that don’t require a cup of coffee to eat…not required but certainly a nice compliment!

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Cappuccino Biscotti
source: adapted from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 sticks butter (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tbsp coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 2 tsp espresso powder
• 2 cups cappuccino chips
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mats.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the honey, eggs, liqueur, and vanilla extract until well-combined.  Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are just combined.  The dough should be stiff but not sticky.  Mix in the cappuccino and chocolate chips.
3. Divide the dough in half and shape each half on a separate baking sheet into a long roll about 16″ long by 5″ wide.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  The dough will spread and flatten slightly and will have shallow vertical cracks down the middle.  Cool the rolls completely on the baking sheets on wire racks for 1 hour at room temperature.  Turn the oven off to save energy during this time.
4. When the rolls are almost completely cool, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Transfer the rolls from the baking sheets to a cutting board, leaving the parchment paper on the sheets.  With the long edge of the roll facing you, cut each roll into 1/2-inch thick slices using a serrated knife.  Place the slices close together on the baking sheets laying flat (they will not spread this time).
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they deepen in color, rotating the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through.  Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets on wire racks then transfer them to racks to cool completely; the biscotti will be slightly soft at first but will harden some once they cool.  Kept in an airtight container, the biscotti will keep for 2 weeks.

Yields: about 4 dozen

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