North African Biscotti

I’m not sure what to start with, so I guess I’ll just say hello. It’s been a while. Life had kept me busy, blogging has been on my mind, and I’ve finally found the time to start it up again. So if you’ve been following me for a while, and you’re back here reading this post, thank you! I’ll give a quick life update and then go on to the real reason we’re here, the food. If you remember, I had a 5 year old girl, Mimi, and a newborn boy, EE. They’ve now grown up to a 7 year old and a 5 year old, and we welcomed a baby girl 2 years ago, baby Ru. We’ve also moved to a new house, I quit my part-time job and my husband increased his work hours. Like I said, we’ve been busy! But it’s good to be back!

And now to the recipe. I love North African flavors, so I added them to a simple biscotti recipe. You’ll notice that I didn’t add extract of any kind. The reason I skip that is because I feel like it always over powers the dish, no matter how little I add, so I prefer to skip it. Feel free to add almond or vanilla extract though.

After adding the flour, do not over mix
Shape into logs
Bake and then remove
Cut and return to oven
Done when golden brown

 

North African Biscotti
Serving Size = 20+
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons anise seed, ground
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds or walnuts
  1. Move rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Whisk together the salt, baking powder, flour and cornmeal.
  4. With a stand mixer and paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth (a hand mixer would work as well). Add the eggs, one at a time and beat for another 2 minutes, making sure to scrape the bowl. Add the ground anise and fennel.
  5. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients and the nuts, mixing only until incorporated.
  6. Divide the mixture in half, creating two 12 x 1 1/2 inch logs. The dough is sticky and the logs will be uneven.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden, but still soft and springy when touched.
  8. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
  9. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut across the logs to create short biscotti that are 3/4 inch pieces. Return the pieces to the baking sheet, standing them up on their short side and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden and firm.
  10. Transfer to a cooling rack and then serve.