Almond, Dates and Walnut Biscotti

It's the 15th of the month again...and it's time for another Baking Partners Challenge! For this month, it all about traditional cookies from four different countries: Speculoos from Netherlands, Kourabeithes from Greece, Biscotti from Italy, and Chinese Almond Cookies from China. With no second thoughts, I chose to make Biscotti! The hubs loves dunking biscotti in his coffee, so I've long been wanting to learn how to make this crunchy Italian treat. This month's challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to try it...and I'm glad that everything turned out perfectly. I've actually made it three times already and today, I'm sharing with you the first one which is Almond, Dates and Walnut Biscotti.

Biscotti, which is also known as biscotti di Prato are twice-baked cookies originating in the City of Prato. I've read that they are traditionally made for dipping into drinks like Vin Santo or coffee, which means that no butter fat or oil should be used because fats leave a nasty residue in the liquid. Because of this, I deviated from the Walnut Biscotti recipe suggested by Sandhya of My cooking Journey, and omitted butter and oil. For added texture, I added almonds and dates, and I change the given measurements for the other ingredients to achieve a perfect consistency. 

I tell yah, the result was superb! The flavors of the orange and coriander gave these biscotti the perfect taste! The hubs said they were the best biscotti he has ever tried! We brought some to his aunt in Dickinson, and she loved it too. She even requested me to make another batch for her! 

To Swathi Iyer of Zesty South Indian Kitchen, thanks for another awesome challenge!

Ingredients:

Yield about 28 pcs. biscotti

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup corn meal
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp finely grated orange rind
• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• ½ cup toasted slivered almonds
• ½ cup chopped pitted dates
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F, with rack in center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and cornmeal. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat in eggs and sugar until well combined. Beat in orange rind. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Beat in walnuts, almonds, dates and crushed coriander seeds. (If you don't have a mixer, you can do all this manually using a spatula, wooden spoon or your bare hands.)

3. Divide the dough into two. In a floured surface, shape both portions into 2 logs about 9 inch long and 2 inch in diameter. Place them about an inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten each log until about 4 inches wide. Bake for 30-35 mins in preheated oven until firm and lightly browned. Remove from oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 10 mins.

4. Transfer to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut log crosswise into ½ inch-thick slices. Put the slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool, then store in an airtight container.

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