Hazelnut Lemon Biscotti
Submitted by cworkman
Hazelnut lemon biscotti, twice-baked Italian cookies with toasted whole hazelnuts and fresh lemon zest. Perfect dunking texture for coffee, tea, or vin santo.
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
18 minREADY
33 minItalian biscotti owe their signature shatter to the twice-baked technique. The first bake sets the log into a dense cookie loaf, then a careful slice and second bake drives out the remaining moisture, leaving a hard, dry biscotti that won’t go stale on the counter or fall apart in your morning coffee.
Toasted hazelnuts are the soul of this version, paired with bright fresh lemon zest that cuts through the buttery dough. Don’t skip the skin-rubbing step. Hazelnut skins turn bitter when baked, so wrapping the toasted nuts in a clean dish towel and rubbing them together flakes off enough skin to keep the cookie sweet and clean-flavored.
The lemon zest goes in with the sugar at the creaming stage on purpose. Massaging the zest into the sugar releases the citrus oils throughout, giving every bite a perfumed lemon backbone instead of pockets of strong zest.
Pro Tips
- Use a serrated bread knife and a gentle sawing motion to slice the cooled logs. Hard pressing or fast cuts crumble the cookie.
- Discard the rounded end pieces or save them as a baker’s snack; they don’t make pretty biscotti.
- For a gentler texture, pull the second bake earlier (about 7 minutes per side) for slightly softer biscotti good with milk.
- Store in an airtight container and they’ll keep for two weeks. They actually improve after a day or two.
Variations
- Substitute toasted sliced almonds for hazelnuts, as one tester suggested. Lemon and almond is a classic pairing.
- Dip half of each cooled biscotto in melted dark chocolate for a fancier presentation.
- Add 2 tablespoons of anise seed or fennel seed for a more traditional Italian flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
I just made this recipe once, and I substituted toasted sliced almonds for the hazelnuts. It was really good!
Preheat oven to 350-F.
Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant.
Place the nuts in a dish towel and rub them together to remove some of the skin.
Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy.
Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, toss the flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter, beating on low speed until a smooth dough forms.
Using a wooden spoon, work in the hazelnuts until evenly distributed.
Divide the dough in half in the bowl.
With lightly floured hands, form the dough into two 10-by-2 inch rectangular logs.
Place the logs on an ungreased baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the logs are set and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.
Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, carefully cut the logs into ½-inch diagonal slices, discard the end pieces. Arrange the slices, cut sides down and close together, on 2 baking sheets.
Bake the biscotti on the top and middle racks of the oven for 8 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Turn the biscotti over, switch the position of the baking sheets and continue baking until lightly browned on the other side, about 9 minutes longer.
Let the biscotti cool completely on the baking sheets.
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