Lemon and Almond Biscotti

By Dan Hutton on August 9, 2011 in

Do you feel like impressing your friends this weekend? Do you wish you were a little bit posh? Do you love a good biscuit to dunk in your coffee? Well look no further – this is the recipe for you.

If you’re anything like me, you may have thought that biscotti was one of those recipes that us regular folk couldn’t possibly attempt to create. Not so – this is a very straightforward recipe with only six ingredients that you can easily make on a Saturday afternoon.

As it is made without oil or butter, the texture is quite dry, so it stores well in the pantry cupboard – ready for you to pull out when a friend drops by for a coffee.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 cups plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
150g whole almonds (skin on)

Directions

Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a tray with baking paper.

Place sugar, eggs and lemon rind in a mixing bowl. Beat with electric beaters until pale and thick.

Fold in the flour, baking powder and almonds. Use your hands to lightly knead the dough on a floured work surface until smooth.

Divide the mixture in half. Form 2 logs about 25cm long x 5cm wide and place on the baking tray, leaving space between logs. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the dough is firm to the touch and slightly golden.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely – this should take about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 140°C.

Cut 0.5cm slices from each log (on an angle). Lay the slices flat on the baking tray and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until completely dried out. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

The biscotti will keep well in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks – if it lasts that long.

Have you got a great recipe that you would like to share? Send it through to operationjamjar@y7mail.com and you could see it in a future issue of The Beast. For more recipes and thrifty cooking ideas visit operationjamjar.blogspot.com.