Marsha’s Biscotti
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I remember reading somewhere that on his legendary expedition to the Americas, Christopher Columbus stored biscotti in the hull of one of his three sailing ships – the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria. It makes sense! If stored properly, these will last forever (apparently long enough for him to find the Americas). The part that I found funny is that even all these years later, I know from experience people are still tucking away small stashes of biscotti! Whether it be an elderly couple at a wedding sliding them into their bags or little kids sticking them in their pockets! I can tell you from experience, my mother loves to fill up a plate and sneak them to her room!
These cookies were adapted from a recipe that a co-worker (Marsha) shared with me after bringing them into an office potluck. I’ve been making the recipe since the late 90s, and if I remember correctly, the recipe originated from Marsha’s sister.
I love how versatile this recipe is, I have made lots of biscotti recipes over the years. Most of the time I start swapping out add-ins, the dough becomes dry and crumbly. This dough starts sticky (so flour your hands when making the logs), do not be tempted to add extra flour! This dough is perfect every time, no matter what I mix into the dough. The key is restraint. Don't add more than the one cup allowed for in the recipe. Mostly, I make these plain, with either almond or anise flavoring. I try to avoid adding nuts when I don’t know my guests well, but these turn out beautiful with nuts, any flavor chip (chocolate yum), or even dried fruit. At Christmas, I like to mix white chocolate and dried cranberries, or pistachios and dark chocolate into the dough! They are beautiful, easy to store and hold up great in the mail. These are always included in my Christmas gift packages that we mail out to family and friends!
I'm not sure where Marsha is today, but I hope she and her sister are still making this recipe! It is the perfect biscotti and my fathers-in-law's favorite cookie.
Marsha's Biscotti's
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment or a Silpad.
- Mix flour, salt, baking powder together and set aside. If adding nuts, dried fruits, or chips, mix them in with the dry ingredients in this step.
- Cream together butter, sugar, and extract in a mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until well incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well. The batter will be creamy.
- Divide the mixture in half. Make each half into a 12-inch log that is approximately 1 ½” wide. Logs will rise, so allow enough space in between.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly brown (depending on your oven).
- Take out of the oven and let cool for on wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Slice biscotti on diagonal and place back on the baking sheet, laying on their sides.
- Return to oven for an additional 10 - 15 minutes until toasted (maybe less time depending on your oven).
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