Chocolate Almond Biscotti - Sweet Punch

You just mention sweets and I will be on it :D Thats how much I love em! I always looked upon baking as an amazing work of art. I still do :) Its really amazing to see how much talent and interest people have towards baking. One such lovely group of people are the "Sweet Punch" team. :)

When I got the invite from the Sweet Punch team (Divya, Ria and Maria), I was delighted. An invitation to bake!! Wohooo :)

So here I was, all set for this experience. And I was even more delighted to see that the September Punch was my fav "Almond Biscotti". I love the store bought biscotti and this was a chance to stock up my fav biscotti :D And I sure did. The recipe was perfectly layed out in Joy Of Baking. I just had to follow suite. And here it was - Yummy and crunchy almond biscotti. I have written down the recipe here for your convenience and mine (easier access :D). 

Ingredients

• Whole almonds - blanched, toasted and chopped coarsely - 3/4 C
• Sugar, granulated - 2/3 C
• Egg - 2
• Vanilla extract - 1 t
• Baking powder - 1 t
• Salt - 1/4 t
• All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 C
• Semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped - 4 ounces (110 grams)

Method


Preparing the Oven

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).  
• Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.  
• Let cool and then chop coarsely.  Set aside.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Preparing the Batter

• In bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the sugar and eggs on high speed until thick, pale, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).  (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.)  
• At this point beat in the vanilla extract.   
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  
• Add to the egg mixture and beat until combined.  
• Fold in the chopped almonds and chocolate.

For Baking

• Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into a log, about 12 inches (30 cm) long and 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) wide. 
•  You may have to dampen your hands to form the log as the dough is quite sticky.  
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.  
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. 
• Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).  
• Transfer the log to a cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) slices, on the diagonal.  Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet.  
• Bake for about 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.  
• Remove from oven and let cool.  
• Store in an airtight container.
• Makes about 16 biscotti.

Yummy biscotti is ready to be devoured. :D