It was not so long ago that most of us did not know what biscotti was...but then came the popularity of coffee shops, and those that love coffee at least, learned about this wonderful crisp, dry, (perfect for dipping) crunchy cookie.
The first biscotti I experienced was in a little outdoor coffee bar at the foothills of the Swiss Alps during a trip to Switzerland twelve years ago. My espresso came with one of these cookies. I have been in love with them ever since.
Lightly toast your whole almonds before you start the recipe, so they have time to cool before adding to the batter.
Coarsely chop the toasted almonds and zest your orange. If I have an extra orange on hand, I like to use the zest of 2 oranges, for even more of a burst of orange flavor.
There are 2 kinds of biscotti--the ones with butter, and the ones without. We have some of both kinds in the cookbook. There is a big difference--the ones with butter are softer, though still crisp. But the ones with no butter, are very hard, and could probably crack a tooth if you have a delicate one--but these are the ones especially good for dunking. This particular recipe is not that kind. There is a small amount of butter here that makes this biscotti mix up to a smoother batter, and bake to a softer crunch.
The finished dough will be heavy and kind of sticky.
Plop the dough into two logs on a parchment lined baking sheet.
With floured hands, pat the logs out like this...
After the first baking, the logs are sliced into 3/8 to 1/2-inch slices. Lay these slices on a pan to be baked again. (Biscotti means, "twice baked.")
Not only coffee drinkers love these cookies...
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