I usually turn up my nose at biscotti. It’s never been my favorite cookie. But as I was looking at the recipe for Lenox Almond Biscotti, I thought of the sliced almonds and almond extract. I like those.
And then I thought about dried apricots. I like those, too. Together they were going to change my mind about biscotti.
The dough is pretty sticky and tastes really, really good. I liked the addition of cornmeal. (We like cornmeal cookies around here.)
I made my two logs, as directed, and anticipated what I was sure would be biscotti perfection.
And then I took them out of the oven…..
They had spread all over the place.
I tried to salvage them. They were thin and hard to slice. After the second baking they were still soft in the middle. The best part, besides the failure in appearance and making them into perfect biscotti, was the taste. They did taste better than any other biscotti I’ve tasted.
We ate them all up before I could take a picture of my crumbling, almondy biscotti.
So I made another batch. And I thought I would be smart and leave out one of the egg whites–just use 1 whole egg and 1 yolk. (I had consulted another recipe.)
That was a mistake. Sure, the dough did not spread very much, but it also didn’t cook in the middle.
My baby started screaming in the midst of my frustrating second batch and I forgot all about the two logs browning (or should I say, blackening) in the oven–that is until I smelled them burning.
They looked horrible; the inside was more like a spongy pound cake instead of a cookie and the outside was hard and darkened. To remedy it, I sawed (literally–SAWED) through the logs and put the slices on a baking rack. I put them into a 200 degree F oven for a bit to dry them out.
Sure. They look decent, right? But trust me, the only way the second batch could be eaten was soaked in herbal tea. (My kids wouldn’t even eat them!) And then you had to try to chew your way through the leathery brown apricots. (Bleh.)
Verdict: I should stick to chocolate chip cookies and we’ll all be happier.
Lenox Almond Biscotti
from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. almond extract
3/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal. In the bowl of standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth, 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat, scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes, until light and smooth. Beat in almond extract. Add dry ingredients and blend just until flour is incorporated.
Scrape out half of dough onto one side of baking sheet and use a spatula and/or lightly floured fingers to mold into a log 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Be careful to keep the dough narrow at this point because it will spread during baking. Repeat with rest of dough. Bake 15 minutes, until logs are light golden and firm to the touch. Move to cooling rack and cool 30 minutes. Keep oven on.
Using a spatula, move one log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, trim ends and slice into 3/4 inch-wide slices. Place cookies back on baking sheet, cut side down. Repeat with other log. (All biscotti should fit on one large baking sheet- you can place them fairly close together since they won’t spread). Bake 10 minutes, turn biscotti over and bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on racks and store in an air-tight container.
26 Comments
Your biscotti turned out perfect in my opinion!! They look really good and I bet the apricots were really delicious in them!
Ummm, hot chocolate?
Sorry about your biscotti blues. What a mystery!
Oh, how many times I’ve gotten distracted and something burned in my oven… :) I also made these biscotti a while back and i had to add baking time to both the first and the second bakes! My dough spread, but I don’t like very thick biscotti, so I was ok with that. I added about 7 minutes of baking time the first bake (and put the tray in the top third of the oven) and 5 min for the second bake, also in the top of the oven. They came out really well, but a little crumbly because of the cornmeal. The taste was faaantastic, though!
Dang it. Maybe talk to Jeri tonight – she makes a the only biscotti I have ever liked, plus she is italian that should help. ? But I still have to eat it with hot chocolate.
I hate recipes that don’t turn out.
oh well… at least you gave them a try! i loved the dough too ;)
Oh no! That’s too bad. Sorry it didn’t work out so well for you this week. We all have a week like that every once in awhile. At least you gave it a try!
Just start fresh next week!
Oooh, I think they look great! Apricots is a great idea!!
-Amy
http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com
I knew it. I hate biscotti.
I think they look perfect! I don’t believe that the second batch didn’t taste good! But I love the addition of the apricots!
mine looked just like your first batch…so flat, and had to bake them much longer to get them crisped through. they did taste great though.
Too bad about the second batch! Apricots sound delicious.
This recipe left a little something to be desired for me too. They look lovely though!
It’s too bad they didn’t turn out for you! Better luck next week!
Awww, sorry you had a flop! Those happen though don’t they? ;-) I thought for sure mine were going to flop, and I agree, the flavor… MMMM! But mine came out great, I was very happy. I did notice that you laid your logs in the opposite direction on the cookie sheet instead of log ways. I wonder if that had anything to do with it? Ah well, they look lovely anyway! :)
They still look great, I added cocoa to mine to make chocolate and they didnt really spread, so maybe a little extra flour?
Your first batch was good so that counts for something! I had trouble with the cooking time with these too.
They look lovely to me!
I think they look lovely and the flavor combination sounds divine!
I’m sorry your second batch didn’t turn out! I like the addition of apricots in the first batch. I’ll have to try it.
lindsey rose johnson! its been a long time – too long in fact … your blog is making me hungry and i’ve only read the first post! i will go through the rest, but wanted to say hello!!!
-anji nilsson
You know, mine spread a lot more then I thought they should the first time around too. I chilled the dough a bit the next time and it helped. Sorry it didn’t work out!
I think they look fantastic! You should pat yourself on the back!
Well I am glad you enjoyed the first batch at least. Apricots and almonds must have tasted good!
Too bad, I was hoping for a biscotti success. I love biscotti–love the crunch.
So glad you liked the first batch. My first experience with biscotti. Don’t worry. There will be more Tuesday’s for Biscotti.
AmyRuth
lindsey, you always take the most beautiful photos… I love that slight blue tint they have. gorgeous!