Almond, Raisin and Lemon Biscotti

Christmas is just round the corner, and everyone’s going a little mad baking biscotti.

I’ve seen varied versions on Lattes and Leggings, On Sugar Mountain, on Bite by Michelle, and many many more.

So guess what I did? I jumped straight onto the Christmas biscotti-baking bandwagon.

For the first time in my life, I decided that I would bake something for Christmas, something Italian and crunchy and oh-so-addictive, whether eaten alone, with warm milk, or a hot cup of coffee or tea.

What are biscotti?

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According to Wikipedia, biscotti are twice-baked biscuits originating in the Italian city of Prato. These biscuits are oblong-shaped almond biscuits, made dry and crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough while still hot and fresh from baking in the oven.

My memories of biscotti..

I’ve eaten biscotti since I was a kid, in sparodic moments of my life, when we were given food hampers during Christmas and along with them came a coveted packet of imported biscotti. Or the times when we were in Europe and had tea at a cafe, and the waiter brought us our coffee with a thin slice of crunchy biscotti by the side.

I remember the dry, pleasant texture of the biscotti and the subtly sweet taste of roughly chopped almonds, and the crunchiness of the crust, which was the direct result of being baked twice in the oven.

I associate biscotti with happiness, Christmas and being overseas. So naturally, this Christmas, if I had to choose only one thing to bake, it had to be biscotti.

Biscotti, anyone?

Plus, with the countless fun and interestingly different biscotti recipes available, it’s quite impossible to not have a version you like (or love).

I found Lattes and Leggings’ version (adapted from Giada at Home) the simplest to follow, so I thought I’d debut my biscotti-baking with the recipe she shared, using raisins and almonds instead of white chocolate and macademia nuts. I’d say that being the first time I made biscotti, this turned out really, really well.

The lemon zest gave the biscotti a tangy zing alongside the classic flavors of almonds and raisins, leaving you wanting more, and more and more of these addictively crunchy Italian-origin biscuits..

Almonds, raisin and lemon biscotti – life’s simple pleasures

ALMOND, RAISIN & LEMON BISCOTTI (Makes 12 biscuits)
Adapted from Giada at Home via Lattes and Leggings

Ingredients:

1) 2 cups of all-purpose flour
2) 1 teaspoon of baking powder
3) 1/2 teaspoon of salt
4) 3/4 cup of sugar
5) 2 large eggs
6) Zest of 2 lemons
7) 1/2 cup of raisins, roughly cut
8) 1/2 cup of almonds, roughly chopped

Steps:

1) Whisk flour, baking powder and salt (set aside)
2) Add sugar and eggs in another bowl. Beat until it turns pale yellow and fluffy.
3) Add flour mixture and lemon zest and beat till blended
4) Add in almonds and raisins and mix till homogenous
5) Shape into a log on baking paper (placed on a tray)
6) Bake at 160 deg cel for 35 minutes until light and golden on outside
7) Cut into pieces
8) Bake for another 10 minutes until crunchy

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt (set aside):

Add sugar and eggs in another bowl:

Beat until it turns pale yellow and fluffy:

Add flour mixture and lemon zest:

Beat till blended:

Almonds and raisins:

Add in almonds and raisins:

Mix till homogenous:

Transfer to baking paper on baking tray:

Shape into a log on baking paper:

Bake at 160 deg cel for 35 minutes until light and golden on outside:

Cut into pieces breadth-wise:

Bake for another 10 minutes until crunchy:

Fresh out of the oven!