I Miss My "Bis"cotti!

I love biscotti. I love to say the word---“biscotti, biscotti, biscotti!” Whenever I say words like biscotti, pizzelles, ravioli, polenta, braciole, mozzarella, mortadella, ricotta, parmesan, and many other food related Italian words, they just seem to roll off my tongue. Saying these words makes me feel like I’m fluent in Italian.

Once we made the decision to travel to Italy, I browsed through several travel books. Most of the authors recommended that travelers take the time to learn a few basic Italian words---you know, to please the Italians. So, I decided to please the Italians and learn more than the few Italian words that I already knew.

To accomplish this I decided to order the Rosetta Stone Italiano CDs. They come with a guarantee that you will be speaking Italian in just a few short weeks. I got on the Internet and did a search---whoa—too expensive! My husband and I could stay a full week in a villa in Tuscany cheaper than the Rosetta Stone Level 1-5 set.

Next best was a two CD set titled, Learning Italian the Easy Way. I ordered it off a site on the Internet and eagerly waited for its arrival. I knew, with practice, I would be pleasing the Italians in just a matter of a few weeks. Once the CD arrived, I got started. I began with CD number 1. I learned that big in Italian was pronounced grande, little was piccolo, frog was ranna, and wasp was vespa. Once I got started, I had to question the author’s choice of the introduced words for my first lesson. I guess if I were to go into a restaurant and placed an order for little frog legs I would be in business; however, I would not know how to say legs so I would probably end up getting a little frog. And, if I saw a big wasp I could scream--- “grande vespa” ----and see if anyone would come to my rescue. After several nights of sitting on my sofa with the CD in my laptop, I decided that it was not going to work. These were not words that I would likely use during my 17-day trip to Italy. I wanted to learn words like train, airport, bathroom, store, busses---not “picolla ranna!”

So, I set out to just learn words that I thought I would need. Words like---
pizzelles, ravioli, polenta, braciole, mozzarella, mortadella, ricotta, parmesan,
and………
Biscotti!

Did I tell you I love the word biscotti?

In Italian, the word "biscotto" means "biscuit" or "cookie." More specifically, biscotti are named according to their original method of baking. The root words "bis" and "cotto" literally mean "twice" and "baked." When Italians first created biscotti in the region of Tuscany many centuries ago, they were careful to bake the cookies twice, in order to form their unique shape and allow the cookies to develop their signature crisp texture. http://www.biscottizone.com/history.html

For years I have been on the hunt for a good biscotti recipe. Several years ago I tried a recipe that produce a cookie that I could have used as a weapon. After that, I found several recipes that were just okay. I actually am not sure what I am looking for. I do not want them to be so hard that they break a person’s tooth; however, don’t want them to be too soft as to where you cannot dunk them into your coffee to enjoy the flavor of java mixed with the bitterness of almond and the sweetness of the sugar.

Today, I decided to use Shirley’s (the lady that teaches the Culinary Workshops In Tuscany) recipe for Almond Biscotti. I followed her recipe, but instead of adding 1 ½ cup of almonds, I added some of the almonds along with chopped tart cherries and chopped bitter chocolate. Once they were done, I decided that I liked the flavor of the chocolate and cherry together when just snacking on the biscotti; however I like just the almond biscotti when I am dunking them in my coffee. My husband said he really liked the chocolate in the biscotti, but he would eat the rear end of a horse if it was covered with chocolate—so you need to be the judge!

While sitting outside this morning listening to the birds and sipping my coffee, I was missing Italy, but I was not missing my biscotti.

Shirley’s Ofria’s Biscotti Recipe

Cantucci (Tuscan Biscotti)
4 eggs
1 ¼ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking power
½ teaspoon vanilla ( I like to add an additional ½ teaspoons of almond extract too)
3 1/3 cups flour
1 ½ cups raw almonds

Instructions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Mix together eggs and sugar.
Stir in almonds. Add baking power, flour, and vanilla (if you want more almond flavoring, this is where I add the almond).
Dump out on floured surface and roll out into snakes about 1 inch diameter and place on parchment-lined pan.
Brush with egg or water (optional).
Bake 10 – 15 minutes until lightly browned.
Remove and let sit for 5 minutes then cup on the diagonal about ¾ inch long.
Lay biscotti cut side up back on parchment paper and return to oven to bake until lightly brown and crispy.



Don’t be afraid to try adding or substituting ingredients in the recipe. I used apricots and pecans in one batch and anise in another---yummy! Also, you can divide the dough in half and then add different ingredients to each half to make two different kinds of biscotti. I have already decided that for my next batch I will try dried cranberries and almonds and white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

Here is a site for a variety of biscotti recipes that I would like to try in the future.
http://www.biscottirecipes.org/
http://www.kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/biscotti-recipes.html

"Buon Appetito"