Homemade Chocolate Biscotti

Homemade Chocolate Biscotti marks day 14 of my Advent holiday delights.  This isn’t a traditional “Christmas cookie,” but it’s certainly festive and cookie-like, and the perfect accompaniment to your morning cappuccino or post-dinner expresso.

Day 14: Chocolate Biscotti

Difficulty: Impressive Challenge

When I saw this recipe on NYTFood, I knew it would be perfect to bring into the office to make everyone’s Monday morning a little more cheery and bright. What I wasn’t planning on was for this little activity to make my Monday morning a chaotic competition of me against the clock. Giving myself an hour and a half to make biscotti and make it out of the house on time was not my brightest idea since this cookie gets baked twice—and needs to cool off in between each round of baking! I ended up scrambling in my attempt to finish and photograph them, so I left a few for me to enjoy leisurely tomorrow morning with a freshly-brewed, piping-hot cup of java.

I’ve labeled these treats as a “challenge” since there are a number of places where things can go wrong. I found the dough a little too wet and sticky to properly shape. I stuck it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to firm up. It was still sticky, but at least I was able to mold it into the shape I wanted. The second tricky part is baking it. It’s always a little difficult for me to gauge when cookies are done baking. And since this was basically a giant cookie at this step, I wasn’t quite sure when they were finished. I used the clock and my kitchen senses. I found the test of lightly pressing it and waiting until it sprung back to be the best indicator.

You roll the dough into a log, then gently flatten it out with your hands and bake it. You are essentially baking one giant cookie!