Biscotti with a cup of tea with milk, a stack of books, lots of pens and pencils and usually a faint classic or just piano music in the background coming from the radio. This was me studying for exams until midnight, then dragging myself to sleep few hours until the morning. Do you relate?
Hey everyone, come and join me making this delicious super easy aromatic Italian biscotti.
Biscotti
Calming and warming biscotti perfumed with anise seeds and the crunch is fabulous. Decorate with ribbons of dark chocolate for an extra fancy look and calories. But seriously, they do not need it, they are just as good plain.
When I was a little girl in elementary and middle school I used to have these biscotti with teat and milk. In high school and college they accompanied my Nescafe cup most the time.
Anise biscotti is one of the most popular and warming winter biscuits in most Arabian countries. It is sold in all Egyptian bakeries year round. When you bake these babes they fill your home with the comfy aroma of anise.
Anise has this distinctive licorice taste and flavor. They pair very well with other aromatic spices like fennel in many sweet and savory dishes through North Africa. Anise seeds are popular int he region for their calming and soothing effects.
Anise tea is one of the popular drinks in the Middle East as well, it is considered one of the main drinks you have to have especially when you have cold. It is believed to help with stomach cramps and coughs. My grandma use to use anise seeds and cloves as breath re-freshener.
How to make Biscotti
Biscotti ingredients:
- Flour: I use all purpose flour and haven't yet tried any other kind.
- Sugar: to sweeten the biscotti, but I assure you it is not overly sweet.
- Baking Powder: used as a leavening agent.
- Anise seeds: the main flavor here.
- Eggs: I've used large eggs here.
- Vanilla extract: for a background flavor note.
- Oil: I've used canola oil. I prefer oil here rather than butter.
Making Biscotti: step by step
- In large mixing bowl, add eggs, vanilla and sugar.
- Beat until you get a foamy mixture then mix in oil.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and anise seeds.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until you get a firm dough.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form the dough into a long or a rectangle. Mine happened to be like an egg :), but it is ok still tasted amazing though. Smooth the dough with oiled hands.
- Bake until edges start to be light brown. Take out of the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes then slice.
- Place slices on cookie sheets side by side. Bake or broil until golden but watch out if you are using the broiler. Turn the slices on all sides and bake until all the sides get this golden brown color.
Let it cool on a rack. Enjoy the relaxing smell of anise with a hot cup of tea/coffee.
Other cookies to enjoy
- Egyptian Wedding Cookies, pistachio stuffed.
- Butter jam stuffed sandwich cookies.
- Cardamom flavored Linzer cookies.
- Pistachio and Sesame cookies.
You may need:
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Biscotti
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Anise Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- 1/2 cup (105g) granulated sugar.
- 1/2 cup (120ml) oil.
- 2 cups (266g) all purpose flour.
- 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder.
- 1 Tablespoon roasted anise seeds.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350, Line a large baking sheet or two small ones with parchment paper. Note1
- In a deep bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract and sugar. Mix in oil.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and anise seeds.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a spoon or spatula.
- Moisten your hands lightly with oil and form dough into a rectangle or a log 0.5 inch thickness.
- Bake in the middle rack for 20-25 minutes or until until the top and sides of the biscotti turns light brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool down for 10 minutes.
- Cut into 1/2 inch slices, turn slices to one side and bake for another 6-8 minutes to brown.
- Turn biscottis on the other side and repeat browning.
- Let them cool down before serving. Store in an airtight container.
Hi ..I’ve made biscotti before and your recipe looks great but I always get an eggy taste and smell whenever I make cookies with eggs and low sugar amount .. I’ve tried organic etc but same result.. am I doing something wrong ? Ty
Sam, you might be a little more sensitive to the egg flavor and smell in baked goods. My suggestions for you is to either add anise extract if you can find it easily or try increasing the amount of vanilla extract. Let me know what do you think?
Omg I was just at Starbucks in Virginia a few days ago looking at the Biscotti and thinking how much I needed to learn to make my own. Now you’ve gone and posted this recipe so it’s my challenge for this week! I have a fresh bag of anise seeds straight from Alexandria in the pantry and chocolate ready for drizzling at least half a batch. I found non alcoholic extracts and flavorings of all kinds on Amazon. Check them out. Thank you again Amira for inspiring me to be more creative in the kitchen for my Egyptian hubby and big family. Bundle up!
Crystal, great minds think alike hehehe. This is a super easy recipe for biscotti really not complicated at all. Enjoy making it and imagine you are there at the beaches of Alexandria eating those :). I love Alexandria and have great memories there with the hubby <3.
Made the Anise biscotti and they came out fantastic. Would have added some anise extract, the vanilla was OK. First time I make a biscotti - will do it again soon. Did not sift dry ingredients, though it might make it a lighter. thanks for the recipe. PS..my husband is Egyptian and he loved them, reminded him of his Mom's biscotti.
Denise, Thank you for trying this recipe and I am so glad you and your hubby liked it. I am afraid of using extracts as it ALWAYS contains alcohol and we do not consume any alcohol, so if this is ok with you then go ahead and add it I bet it will smells heavenly. Aaaaah moms' cooking and dishes are always the best, it brings back lots of good memories :). If you have any recipe you want to make please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks Amira, that would be Gr8....appreciate your help....will reach out to you for sure.
G'day! Love your recipe and photos too!
I can almost smell the wonderful anise and be perfect dunking right now in my coffee, true!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks Joanne, try it if you like anise its smell is soooo relaxing :).