Cinnamon Almond Biscotti

You will fall in love with this Cinnamon Almond Biscotti at first smell! Really, the aroma of this Italian cookie while it bakes is heavenly. 

Have you ever seen those cute little packages of biscotti sitting on the counter of your favorite coffee place and thought A. those look tasty, B.  those look so exotic or C.  those look too complicated to make myself?

Two of those thoughts are true:  biscotti is quite tasty and exotic, but it’s SO not complicated or difficult to make at home.

There’s something so comforting about a nice warm cup of coffee and a slice of biscotti.  Whether you dip your biscotti or daintily nibble and then sip, you can’t go wrong with this Italian cookie.  Packaged up and tied with a pretty festive bow, these cinnamon almond biscotti are perfect for a holiday hostess gift or present them in a basket like I did, along with thermoses filled with piping hot coffee and pretty mugs.

Cinnamon Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon {I tend to add a bit more}
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl,  cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla, set aside.  In another bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt;  mix dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture.  Stir in the sliced almonds.

Divide dough in two equal amounts right on your prepared pan and shape into two logs approximately 12 inches long.  Sprinkle with  cinnamon sugar if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are golden and the center is firm.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for five minutes {no longer} on the pan. Place loaves on a wire rack.  Reduce oven temp to 250 degrees.  When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a chef knife to carefully slice loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Cut straight down, do not “saw.”  Return slices to the baking sheet, cut side down.

Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 250 degrees, turn pieces over and cook 10 minutes on the other side.  TURN OFF the oven and just leave the biscotti in the oven for an additional 2 to 3 hours to dry completely. Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature.  They stay fresh for a month if stored properly and they freeze nicely.

Makes about 30.

**Need more recipes for holiday baking? Check out my Christmas Cookie Roundup.**

 

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