Inspired by and adapted from Aunt Vivianne's home grown recipe, straight from the little Italy of the Southwest, Spring Texas. These biscotti, or something closely resembling them, arrived unexpectedly at our door one December morning a few years back. There were about 2 dozen biscotti of various flavors, beautifully hand wrapped. We devoured them in about 3 days, and they only lasted that long because I exercised unusual self-restraint. Anyway, these low fat (although you won't lose any weight eating 10 of them) biscotti are delicious and festive. They make a great gift, or a great desert. Enjoy them before, during, and after the holidays. In other words, anytime.
Ingredients
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons almond or anise extract
(Note: other flavor extracts can be substituted, such as lemon)
1 cup granualted sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional - you can also substitute other chopped nuts, such as pistachio)
Preparation
Mix together the eggs, sugar, and anise (or other flavored extract). Next, add the remaining dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and nuts (if you're using them). Mix thoroughly. Pour onto the middle of a non-stick cookie sheet, allowing the batter to form a thick, pancake-like circle. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool. Now, you're ready to cut the biscuits. Slice the circle in half, and then continue slicing into biscuits by cutting the halves lengthwise. The biscuits should be cut about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. When you've finished cutting the biscuits, place them on their side on the non-stick cookie sheet and put them back in the oven (again, at 375 degrees)until lightly toasted. Then turn the biscuits over, and allow the other side to toast. When both sides have been toasted, remove from the oven. They're ready to go!
Serving Suggestions
You can probably figure this one out for yourself, but I'll recommend a few anyway, just to whet your appetite: with coffee or espresso, with ice cream or sorbet, with hot chocolate or homemade eggnog, with a glass of Port or desert wine, with...