biscotti with lemon and anise seeds

Biscotti with Lemon & Anise Seeds

This recipe comes from my days at Northwest Culinary Academy….. week 10, to be precise. ‘Italian Week‘ was definitely one of my favourites. The recipes we prepared during that week were delicious and, for the most part, really quite simple. The biscotti was outstanding and , though I’ve never considered myself to be much of a baker, I remember thinking that this was an item that was definitely worth a repeat effort.

The word ‘biscotti’ comes from bis and cotti, the Italian terms for twice-cooked or twice-baked. Biscotti is also the generic term for cookie in Italian. Historically, these treats were perfect food for sailors who were at sea for months at a time. As the biscuits were thoroughly baked to draw out moisture, they were resistant to mold (their shelf life is about three to four months, without any preservatives or additives). Even Christopher Columbus enjoyed them on his long sea voyage. Though the traditional variety was flavoured with anise and almonds, today’s modern versions offer an endless variety of unique ingredients (think chocolate, pistachios, vanilla, orange rind, dried cherries…..)

If you like to have a sweet on hand, to dunk in your coffee or to share with a friend, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. Hint: doubling the recipe would mean having extra to give away as gifts. Make someone’s day – make them some homemade biscotti!

Biscotti with Lemon & Anise Seeds

100 grams butter (1/2 c plus 1 T), softened
2/3 c sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 t anise seeds, toasted and ground (in a mortar and pestle)
2 eggs
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/4 t salt
2 t baking powder
2/3 c chopped almonds or whole hazelnuts, toasted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350*. Cream the butter, sugar, zest and seeds in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Add the nuts to the wet ingredients and combine. Next, stir in the dry ingredients, a bit at a time, until all flour has been incorporated and a dough is formed. Place the dough in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Remove the dough from the fridge and put onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Form dough into a loaf and bake for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. Allow to cool on a rack. Using a good bread knife, cut loaf into 1/2″ slices, being sure to cut on the bias (diagonal). This time, preheat oven to 250*. Place cookie slices back on the baking sheet and return to the oven for about another 10 minutes, until fully dry. Cool once more. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature.