There is nothing to do with Italian "Torta Della Nonna" though. I named my biscotti after one Italian babushka, who was kind enough to share her recipe with me (Nonna means Granny in Italian).
300 g flour
150 g sugar
100 g almonds
50 g softened butter room temperature
3 eggs
7 g easy bake dry yeast
zest of 1 orange*
1 tsp vanilla essence
milk for brushing
*I use a sachet of the ready made zest (Dr Oetker)
Method:
Preheat oven to 200C, line a baking tray with the parchment.
Rub the almonds vigorously with a dry cloth (note - it is going to be quite dirty). This will remove the small particles, that might give plenty of dark specks to the dough after mixing.
Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Add the orange zest and beat away for a couple of minutes.
Sift the flour and the yeast together over a separate bowl, then add them gradually into the mixture, beating after each addition.
Fold in the almonds and the vanilla. Mix until well combined.
This is how the mixture will finally look like. It will be quite sticky.
Split the dow in half. With a help of spoon turn the dough onto a tray, shaping it into two equally sized logs (keep some space between them since they will get bigger in size while baking). Brush the surface with milk, at the same time making it even and smooth.
Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
After removing the logs from the oven let them cool down for a minute or two, then transfer them onto a slicing board. Cut them into diagonal slices approximately 1,5 cm thick.
Place slices back on the baking tray.
Set the oven to 150C and bake the biscotti for the second time (this is why they are called "twice-baked in Italian) for approximately 5-10 minutes or until they get completely dried out and crunchy. (Note: depending on the humidity the second baking time may take longer or shorter). Keep checking them during toasting in order not to underbake or to overbake.
Cool completely, then store in a tin container (the airtight may make them again get soggy).
Enjoy them with a cup of Italian coffee! Bon appétit!
