Ingredient 101 "Biscotti"

Biscotti (bee-SKAWT-tee) - as it is commonly known is derived from the Italian word biscotto, bis meaning twice & cotto meaning cooked.

"jin's Gingerbread Biscotti"

What are you? Are you a Lover? ..... of Biscotti, that is. I believe you either love it or hate it, there's no in between. Then again, if you haven't tried my Biscotti ...... well, you simply MUST!

Step 1: Whipping the eggs & sugar.

These ‘twice baked’ biscuits can be traced back to 13th century Tuscany, in a city named Prato (about 15 miles from Florence). Their popularity, in part, is due to Christopher Columbus, who relied on these crispy baked delicacies for his sea excursions in the 15th century. It was a perfect food for the sailors because after being baked once, it was sliced & baked a second time to thoroughly dry out the biscuit. This made them unsusceptible to mold growth, a huge plus when you are in a boat for months!

Step 2: Adding the rest of the ingredients.

There are two main types of Biscotti. The first type is made without any butter & are the more common variety. These greatly benefit from a generous dunking in coffee, tea or a glass of wine as they have a very hard texture. The second type has butter mixed in the dough. Just enough is added to give the cookie a more tender texture; a bit like that of a shortbread cookie. With this variety dunking is only optional for they are gorgeous on their own!

Step 3: Forming rough 'logs' out of the sticky dough.

With my obviously biased descriptions I’m sure you’ve come to the conclusion that the Biscotti I make is of the ‘butter added’ variety.

Step 4: Smoothing the 'logs' by jinhand, then baking.

'Logs' after being baked the first time.

Step 5: Slicing each 'log' into individual cookies.

Step 6: Re panning them with space between, so they can evenly dry out. They are baked the second time from 1 to 2.5 hours, until firm.

Step 7: Some varieties are adorned with chocolate or white chocolate.

Step 8: They are stacked, one x one in our Jumbo Biscotti Jars for display.

Step 9: Labeled as to Awesome Flavour. These happen to be my FAVES!

This is how goofy I look after spending 2 days making just over 800 Biscotti.

Shall I tempt you with the flavours?
Of course I shall, said the Temptress.
;-)
Whimsical - Spicy Gingerbread w/Meringue Royal Icing
Classical - Dried Cranberries & Toasted Georgia Pecans
Phenomenal - Crystallized Ginger & Belgian White Chocolate
Traditional - Toasted Almond & Cracked Spanish Anise
Celestial - Melted Chocolate, Mini Chips & Belgian Chocolate
Angelical - Tiny Maine Dried Blueberries & Ceylon Cinnamon
Diabolical - Crushed Toasted Hazelnuts & Organic Black Pepper
Exceptional - Dried Cherries & Loads of Mini Chocolate Chips