Fruity Biscotti

Biscotti are perfect for eating as soon as they are out the oven, but they stay edible for absolutely ages. Keep them in a tin or any airtight container, then you can bag them up and give them as gifts as a cheap way of doing birthdays and holidays. You can even spin it so that it’s a more heartfelt and personal gift, rather than because you forgot or didn’t like this particular person enough to spend actual cash. The reason these Italian biscuits keep so well is that they are baked twice – this makes them supremely dry and crunchy. So even if they were to stale, they couldn’t really get any more dry than they are now. Whilst that doesn’t necessarily sound that delicious, it is. The dryness of the dough is balanced by lots of nuts and dried fruit. And for this recipe, I’ve gone all out. This is very, very fruity biscotti recipe. I’d give this a go, even if you are still feeling sceptical. They are amazing with a coffee, and if you make them wee enough they’re really not that bad for you either. 

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Line a flat baking sheet with baking paper (non-stick greaseproof paper).

Step 2

Into a large bowl, weigh your flour, baking powder and sugar. Using your fingers, lightly combine these.

Step 3

Add the eggs, vanilla nuts and dried fruit, then mix everything together until it forms into a dough. Sprinkle some plain flour onto a clean surface.

Step 4

Turn your dough out onto your flour then add some more flour on top. Use floured hands to split the dough into two, then shape each into sausage shapes the length of your baking tray. Place them on the tray, leaving space in between (they’ll spread during baking).

Step 5

Bake your biscotti for 30 minutes, or until risen and golden. They should feel crispy on the outside. Remove them from the oven and turn it down to 140C/120C/Gas 1.

Step 6

Leave the biscotti slabs and oven to cool for 10 minutes, and then cut them into 1cm thick slices using a bread knife. Topple the slices over, laying them flat on the baking tray. Bake them for 15 minutes, then turn every slice over and bake for another 15 minutes on the other side. Leave them to cool on the tray.

Top Tips

• This recipe can be used to make huge, long biscotti too. If this sort of thing interests you, place your dough on the baking tray in one wide sausage, and then bake for an extra 15 minutes so it is cooked through before slicing.
   
• Your biscotti fillings don’t need to be prescribed by me – you can use whatever you want! Chocolate chips work very well, but it’s best to make sure your biscuit slab is cool before slicing.