Choco-Cappuccino Biscotti with Roasted Almonds

Biscotti (plural for biscotto) are Italian biscuits and are described as dry, hard and twice baked cookies. The name is derived from 'bis' meaning twice in Italian and 'cotto' meaning baked or cooked. 
Traditionally Biscotti are almond flavoured and do not use butter or oil. The sticky dough is first shaped in a log and baked till firm. After a short cooling period, the log is sliced into diagonal slices and baked again to draw out the moisture and thus giving the characteristic crisp and dry texture. These biscuits thus have a long shelf life. 
Modern recipes use butter or oil to attain a softer texture and use endless variations. You can add any flavour, dried fruits, nuts, seeds  spices etc and can even frost with melted chocolate and top with nuts or coloured sprinkles.
Baking Partners challenged us with four different types of cookies from around the world. My instant pick was Biscotti from Italy being on my list for a long time. This was suggested by Sandhya who blogs from My Cooking Journey. I went wild in my flavorings and decided to add both chocolate(being my weakness) and coffee. I added some roasted almonds for that beautiful crunch in these cookies which are basically an avatar of our desi Rusks.
Enjoy them with your cup of tea or coffee as crunchy biscuits or dunk them in to soften them. These are such super simple and impressive biscuits mainly because of the variation you can bring into them.

Ingredients : I reduced the recipe by 1/4 to yield about 10 Biscotti

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour(atta)
• 1/4 cup sugar, powdered
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp strong coffee, cooled(I diluted 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee in 1 tbsp of hot water)
• 1/2 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp choco-chips
• 2 tbsp roasted almonds, chopped

Procedure :

Roasted almonds : 

Boil some water in a pan and blanch the almonds for a min. Remove from heat and let it cool. Rub the skin off and pat dry the almonds with a kitchen towel.

Dry roast the almonds in a pan. 

Allow to cool and then chop.

Biscotti :

Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

Prepare a baking tin lined with parchment/butter paper.

Whisk together coffee, egg, vanilla and olive oil in a small bowl.

In another bowl, sift both the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder.

Add the coffee mixture to the flour mixture and mix till incorporated.

Mix in the choco-chips and roasted almonds.

The mixture will be very sticky. Avoid adding any more flour.

Transfer this to the prepared tin and shape into a log with wet hands. (I pulled the ends of my butter paper and tied above to maintain the log shape.)

Bake for 25-30 mins.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degree Celsius.

My Biscotti after the first bake

Allow the Biscotti log to cool for 15 mins. 

Cut diagonal slices with a sharp serrated knife carefully, so as not to break the slices.

Arrange the slices on the baking tray and bake each side for 5-10 mins or till crisp and brown.

This recipe is also part of the KFB (Kolkata Food Bloggers) Blogging Marathon. Check out what my other lovely Blogger friends have to share at these links:
A Homemaker's Diary
Silence Sings
My Food My Life
Recipe Junction
Jayati's Food Journey
 
This post is also linked to Little Thumbs Up   hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out

 

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

Happy Biscotti Eating

Amrita