1 2/3 cup bread flour
2 cup cake flour
2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp anise seeds
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp anise extract
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet
1 chocolate, optional
Directions
Blend bread and cake flours, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda and
anise seeds in bowl. Melt butter and set aside to cool.
Beat 2 eggs, 1 additional egg yolk and sugar until smooth. Reserve the
remaining egg white. Stir in zests and anise. Add butteer and mix
until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix to smooth dough.
Roll dough into 2 14inch logs and place on baking sheet lined with
parchment paper. Press tops of logs to flatten slightly. Brush with
reserved egg white.
Bake at 375 degrees F. until logs are light brown, but still give
slightly when tops are pressed, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from
oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees.
While logs are still warm, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Return
slices to baking sheet, placing on sides. Return to oven and bake
until cookies are lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven
and cool on wire racks.
Cut chocolate into 1/2 inch chunks. Place 2/3 in stainless steel bowl,
spreading in even layer over bottom and up sides of bowl. Cover bowl
with plastic wrap. Fill medium saucepan 1/3 full of water. Bring
water to simmer over high heat. Remove pan from heat and set bowl of
chocolate over top. Let stand until 80% of the chocolate has melted.
Do not let temperature of chocolate drop below 88 degrees on candy
thermometer. If so, place bowl over saucepan of warm water and
continue stirring. Stir until chocolate is smooth and glossy.
Have clean sheet of waxed paper nearby. Dip 1/2 of each cookie in
chocolate. As cookie is removed, scrape top and bottom against side
of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Set cookies on waxed paper until
chocolate sets, about 3 hours or put into freezer for about 20
minutes. Submitted By SANDY GAMBLE
1995 233849 ~0700 (MST)
Servings: 48 biscotti
Anise & Walnut Biscotti Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Biscotti; Cookie; Italian; Nut; Pasta
The History of Recipes
Food historians have traced the existance of recipes far back into history, certainly as far into history as early Egypt, and possibly even further. In practice though, sadly, these ancient records were just basic hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a series of clay tablets in the Sumerian language describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `blissful`. Later on, in Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a number of documents describing recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. He tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. This early Roman chef describes how the Roman cooks were skilled in the use of many different spices and herbs, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, mint and asafoetida. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices such as basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations caused an explosion in manuscripts on food, many of which are now in academic collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the powerful and rich houses competed with each other to lay on the most extravagent meals, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe collections rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, testing, and recording recipes common in their social group. Like it or not, the introduction of television gave us cooking programs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting us all to access massive numbers of recipes like those on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Anise & Walnut Biscotti recipe.
