I find today that of all cookies, Italian biscotti are the most tempting to make, because they keep so well. “Biscotti” means “twice cooked,” and what makes them so absorbent, to say nothing of imperishable, is that they are baked twice. Moreover, the true biscotti have no fat in them (although American versions tend to sneak some in), and that is why they hold their own when dunked into a cup of afternoon tea or after-dinner coffee. So here is the real thing, to savor for the weeks ahead.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put 2 1/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, and blend well. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, just enough to blend yolks and whites, and then set aside 1 tablespoon for the final glazing. Pour the remaining eggs and the vanilla into the dry ingredients, and mix until the dough comes together. If it seems too wet to pick up and knead, add a little more flour; if it seems too dry, sprinkle a little water onto the dry spots. Knead a few turns with floured hands. Now grate the peel of the orange (I use the coarse holes of a box grater, because I like larger pieces of orange than fine grating gives). Chop the nuts into coarse pieces, and knead them into the dough along with the grated orange to distribute evenly. Divide the dough in half, and form two logs approximately 10 inches long. Put them on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet, several inches apart, and paint the sides and tops with the reserved egg glaze. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300°, and remove the two pieces to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. When they have cooled, use a serrated bread knife to cut diagonal slices a little more than 1/2 inch thick, and lay them out flat on a large cookie sheet. Return them to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, and cool on a rack thoroughly before storing in a large cookie tin.
Variations
Step 2
You can use different nuts and raisins in the dough, as well as grated lemon, or make chocolate dough, adding 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips to the dough and working in some broken-up chocolate.
