ospite d’onore / guest of honor

This is new territory for me – A guest post!  I am very excited and honored to have Jen Schall of My Kitchen Addiction guest post today.  She so graciously allowed me to guest post over at her place and is now providing me with some of her fabulousness over here! Her timing is perfect because I don’t make/post many cookies. So, you can imagine my thrill when I saw Jen’s email with “Biscotti” in the subject line.  Biscotti make me *Swoon*. Thanks Jen for this delicious post!

Sometimes I find that writing a post for someone else’s blog can be a great source of inspiration.  Just a small change like that often forces me to think outside of my usual repertoire and try something new. After the beautiful Basil Cupcakes with Mascarpone Basil Frosting that Chris happily provided for me in a guest post earlier in the summer, I have been excited about dropping by Mele Cotte with a recipe of my own!

If you read my blog (My Kitchen Addiction), you may already know that I secretly wish I was Italian. I simply adore Italian cuisine! So, it seemed only fitting that I picked out something Italian for my guest post on Mele Cotte. While I love pasta and all sorts of savory Italian dishes, I am an even bigger fan of Italian sweets. Much of my inspiration has come from visiting the little pasticcerias in Boston’s North End.  One of my favorite treats is to have biscotti with an espresso!

I’ve been searching for a good biscotti recipe for a while. I’ve tried countless recipes, and they often fall apart on me when I try to slice them.  I recently saw a recipe for Italian biscotti in the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, and I knew I had to try it! The recipe just called for a plain biscotti, but I decided to jazz it up a bit with some vanilla bean paste, almond extract, and chocolate. Buon Appetito!

Vanilla Almond Biscotti

(adapted from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

•    2 eggs
•    2/3 cup sugar
•    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or substitute vanilla extract)
•    1 teaspoon almond extract
•    2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
•    Bittersweet chocolate (about 2 ounces)
•    1/4 teaspoon shortening

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicon mat) and set aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light in color and falls back into the bowl in ribbons.  Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add in the flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.

Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and shape into a flat loaf. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Allow the baked loaf to cool for about 5 minutes.  Mist the loaf lightly with water and let it rest for another 5 minutes (this will help to prevent cracking/crumbling when slicing).

Once the loaf has rested, transfer it to a cutting board and use a serrated knife to slice the biscotti.  Slice on the diagonal to produce long biscotti (and feel free to snack on the small end pieces!). Return the slices to the baking sheet and bake for an additional 20 – 25 minutes.  Transfer the slices to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the slices are cool, melt the chocolate with the shortening (either in a double boiler or gradually in the microwave).  Drizzle the biscotti with the chocolate.