BAKE: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Walnut Biscotti

• Ingredients for Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Walnut Biscotti
• Equipment & Method to Bake Homemade Biscotti
• Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Walnut Biscotti

Breakfasts around here are usually a simple affair, and nothing is simpler than a steaming hot cup of coffee with a couple crunchy biscotti cookies to dunk. These chocolate chip biscotti, lightly spiced with cinnamon and studded with crunchy walnuts are a tasty treat for breakfast, or any time, really.

The ubiquitous biscotti you can now find in jars on the counter of almost every coffee shop are derived from cantucci, a traditional Italian almond or hazelnut flavored twice-baked cookie that’s especially popular in Tuscany. Cantucci are equally at home with a glass of Vin Santo or other dessert wine or even a sweet herbal tea, if coffee isn’t your thing (or will keep you up at night).

Likewise, you can try these chocolate chip walnut biscotti with a steaming cup of hot cocoa or chocolate maté, or pair it with a nutty sherry or a glass of nocino for dessert.

Sure, you can buy fancy biscotti from the store or specialty bakeries, but once you see how easy they are to make, you’ll want to have some in your cookie jar all the time. They last a really long time, too, so you can bake a few different kinds and enjoy them whenever you feel like it. They also make fantastic homemade gifts! As long as you store them in an airtight container and away from moisture, they stay fresh for a month or more.

The secret to these crunchy, long-lasting (if you don’t eat them all right away) cookies is in the baking. They’re twice baked, first as a flat oblong roughly shaped loaf, then cooled, thinly sliced, and baked again. You don’t have to do it all on the same day, but they’re not that hard, so it’s totally doable, even if you’re a beginner at baking!

Equipment & Method to Bake Homemade Biscotti

Mixing bowl and spoon:

Medium to large mixing bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula. You don’t need a mixer for this quick and simple dough- it’s easy to mix by hand and comes together quickly.

Baking sheet and liner:

I prefer baking on plain, uncoated half sheet pans, lined with parchment or silicone nonstick baking sheets. You can use nonstick baking or cookie sheets if you prefer. These cookies are baked twice, and I use the same pans for the second baking. If you use nonstick liners or parchment, you don’t even need to wash them.

You form the dough into two roughly shaped rectangles by patting it out directly on the cookie sheets, then bake them. Then, let them cool on wire racks and next slice them into the familiar biscotti shape.  You can re-bake them right away, or let them sit overnight if need to split the baking project up.

Serrated bread knife:

It’s easiest to slice the loaves into individual cookie slices with a long, thin, sharp serrated bread knife. Use long sawing strokes to slice the half-baked slabs of cookie dough, without crumbling. If some of your cookies crumble a little, well, bake them anyway… they’ll still taste good!

Try to make the slices an even thickness. This will help them bake evenly. You can make them thicker or thinner, but I aim for about a half inch in thickness. Thicker slices will take longer to bake to crispness, and thinner ones will bake faster, so adjust baking time as needed. You may want to reduce the heat in your oven slightly if you made very thick slices… I wouldn’t go thicker than an inch.