apricot, cinnamon and almond biscotti

apricot, cinnamon and almond biscotti

• 17 Oct 2016

I received a copy of Tasting Rome by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill just before I went on my holidays way back in June. It's a lovely looking book and I've been dying to try out some of the recipes but just haven't had the time. Last weekend the biscuit tin was empty so I decided to make some biscotti.




I make biscotti quite often because most recipes don't contain any additional fats and they last for ages. I'm also a 'dunker' and love having something I can dip into my cup of tea.



I particularly wanted to combine apricots with almonds so I used one of the recipes from the book as my inspiration, adapted a recipe I use all the time and went from there.



I halved the recipe as most biscotti recipes make a huge amount and I knew I was heading out of town for the week and I couldn't bear the thought of all those lonely biscotti sitting in the tin. 



For all my recipes, I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams and my oven is a conventional gas oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C.

Dunking, you see I told you I just can't help myself.

Here's the recipe for you, which makes 2 dozen biscotti.

Apricot Cinnamon and Almond Biscotti 

Ingredients 

1¼ cups plain flour 

½ cup caster sugar 

1 tbl light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp baking powder 

pinch bicarbonate soda

1 tsp finely grated orange rind 

⅓ cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

⅔ cup toasted whole almonds 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 eggs

a little milk

Method 

Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, mix together the flour, the sugars, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Add the orange rind, the dried apricots and almonds.  

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually pour most of the egg mixture into the dry ingredients (you'll need a little of the egg mixture to glaze the biscotti). Mix with the dough hook for 1-2 minutes until a sticky dough forms. 

Lightly moisten your hands with cold water to prevent the dough from sticking to them then shape the dough into a flattened log 12 inches long by 2½ inches wide by 1 inch high. Add a dash of milk to the remaining egg mixture and lightly brush over the biscotti dough.

Bake the biscotti in the preheated oven until it’s dry to the touch and firm in the centre, about 30 minutes. The log will spread and may crack slightly on top. Transfer the log to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. The log will still be slightly warm to the touch. 

Carefully transfer the log to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut the log crosswise on the diagonal into slices 1 cm inch wide. Arrange the slices, cut side down, on the lined baking tray, placing them close together but not touching. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the biscotti. Continue to bake until dry and crisp for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the biscotti to wire racks to cool completely.



Store the biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks, if they last that long. 

See you all again next week.

Bye for now,

Jillian