Lemon Almond Biscotti

Refreshing and delightful crisp textured biscotti with a zesty zip of fresh lemon and the sophistication of ground almonds are sure to delight coffee and tea drinkers.  Liven up your afternoon refreshment or provide a nice slightly sweet palate cleanser after dinner with a Lemon Almond Biscotti.

I received an inquiry from a blog reader for a lemon biscotti recipe and since I never made them before I came up with this one.  Easy to make, with a long shelf life they are great for this time of year. 

Yield:  60 to 80 biscotti

6 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground anise

4 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

2 teaspoons sea salt

4 extra large eggs

2 and 1/ 2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (try sunflower)

1/ 3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 and 1/ 2 cups ground almond flour

1 cup tart dried cherries chopped into medium pieces

3/4 cup whole almonds

1 cup additional unbleached flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line  rimmed baking sheet with  silpat or parchment paper.  I prefer half sheet aluminum pans.

Combine 6 cups flour, baking powder, anise, zest, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.   Place eggs in stand mixer bowl, add sugar, and beat on medium speed until light in color and thick.  Add oil to eggs.  Beat mixture, starting at lowest speed, until well combined.  Add lemon juice and mix.  Add almond flour and mix.  Next, add 6 cups flour to mixer bowl.  Start mixer on lowest speed.  Mix until flour is incorporated.  Lastly,  add dried cherries and almonds and mix until just distributed.

Remove dough from mixer bowl  to wood or stone work surface dusted with flour.  Dough may be slightly sticky.  Add some flour (from extra cup) as you knead dough lightly with your hands until it is smooth and easy to work with.  Roll dough  into a smooth log and slice into 4 equal pieces.  Form four logs about 2 inches in diameter and 10 inches in length.  Place two logs carefully on each lined baking sheet.  Place baking sheets in oven.  Rotate baking sheet once during baking as necessary to promote even browning.

Bake until golden in color 25 to28 minutes.  Remove baking sheets from oven and set aside. Turn oven temperature down to 200°F.  Carefully remove first roll from baking sheet onto large cutting board without breaking it.

Slice immediately on a sharp diagonal with a long serrated knife making biscotti about 1/ 4 to 1/ 3 inch thick.  I stop to wipe my knife off with hot water every few slices so the knife glides through. Be patient, almonds are hard to slice through. Biscotti make look under-baked when you slice them but they will toast and become dry in the second baking.  Return sliced biscotti to lined cookie sheets, being careful not to break them. You may use hot cookie sheet , but you will need additional baking sheets as once sliced, biscotti take up more room.  Toast biscotti in oven for two hours.  After oven is turned off, leave them in closed oven overnight.  They should be crisp.  One recipe makes 60 to 80 biscotti depending on how thick you slice them.  Store biscotti in an airtight tin.

I always bake biscotti after dinner, so I can slice them after baking and put a timer on the oven for two hours for toasting and then, its shuts off automatically and biscotti can just stay in closed oven all night.