Christmas Gift Idea: Bake Biscotti

If you’re looking for ideas for Christmas gifts for foodie friends or family, or if you’ve got a large group of people who you want to give Christmas gifts to, such as colleagues or team members, then biscotti is the perfect answer. Biscotti are twice baked almond biscuits that are dry and crunchy, often served with sweet wine or coffee to dunk in. They’re popular as a Christmas gift because of their festive flavours and the fact that they keep well for up to a month after baking. Biscotti originate from the Tuscan city of Prato (back in the 14th century), and the name means “twice baked”, but in Italy these biscuits are also often known as “cantuccini”. The dough is first baked as a log and then sliced up to make the oval biscuits, that are baked again to make them crunchy.
Whether included as part of a festive hamper or given as small gifts to colleagues, nothing shows that you care like baking, and nothing’s easier to bake and gift at this time of year than biscotti. Give it a go, and get ahead for Christmas!

biscotti

INGREDIENTS

350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 orange, coarsely zested
85g sultanas
50g blanched almonds
50g your choice of other nuts

chef rupert cooper demonstrating how to make biscotti during a tuscan cookery course at philleigh way cookery school

METHOD

Heat your oven to 180C, 160C fan or gas mark 4, and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and sugar.
Stir in the eggs and zest until the mixture starts forming clumps, then bring the dough together with your hands – it will seem dry at first but keep kneading until no floury patches remain.
Add the fruit and nuts, then work them into the dough until evenly distributed throughout.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces.Roll each piece into a thick sausage about 30cm long. Place two on each tray, spaced well apart as they will increase in size as they bake.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the dough has risen and spread, and feels firm. It should still look pale. Remove from the oven and turn it down to 140C, and place the baked dough on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
Use a bread knife to cut the dough on the diagonal into 1cm thick slices, then lay the slices flat on the baking sheets.
Bake for another 30 minutes, turning them over half way through, until dry and golden. Remove from the oven and tip out on to a wire rack to cool completely, then bundle up and gift wrap, or enjoy a few yourself with a coffee or glass of desert wine to dunk in.

laying slices of biscotti on a baking tray for the second bake
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