After my unsatisfactory first try at biscotti, I knew that I would doubtlessly return to the crumbly cookie yet again, although I hadn’t imagined it would have been quite so soon. Well, there’s no time like the present, right?
A comment on that very post written by Amanda of VeganCore spoke of an enticing combination of flavors that I simply couldn’t push out of my head. Hazelnuts, orange, and chocolate danced across my brainwaves, endlessly circulating and begging to be made into reality. But what opportunity would have I have to play around with it? I’ve been baking far too much lately; There are only so many types of irresistible vegan sweets that I can have around the house at one time… It could cause a very dangerous conflict of interest. So when Amanda jokingly complained about the great distance between her current location these tasty treats displayed on my blog, I jumped at the opportunity and proposed a mini swap of vegan goodies.
What could be more perfect? I fiddled for the entire sleepless night with my previously failed recipe and learned from my mistakes – Failure was not an option this time around!
Immediately looking infinitely more promising, I carefully shaped my biscotti-loaf into a much thinner rectangle, so that the cookies would be a manageable shape to begin with. It did still spread and grow, but the finished biscotti ended up being the perfect size to enjoy along side a midday cup of tea. Exactly what I had intended all along! Isn’t it nice when things work correctly?!
Half way through and still looking good – A nice clean cut, and back into the inferno! One did break on me, but I simply left that one out of the package and sampled it myself… You know… Quality control, purely research. How could I be certain they weren’t inedible after all? I was just looking out for the best interests of its true recipient.
But of course, these graceful fingers of crunchy cookie and nuts weren’t yet complete without a quick dip in a warm, cozy bath of molten chocolate.
It worried me to send chocolate items through the mail in June, but I dutifully wrapped each biscotti individually, sealed them inside a ziplock bag, encased them in a sheet of bubble wrap, and tucked them away into a leftover box originally from Amazon.com. I’m happy to report that the volatile chocolate made it through safe and sound, albeit a little bit soft.
While they don’t have an intense orange flavor like I was expecting, they do have a very pleasant hint of citrus in the background, just enough to catch you interest and keep you munching through scores of cookies, trying to pin down the exact source of their tang. I’ve seen the light, and now I know that not all biscotti are destined to fail in production! Oh, the endless possibilities that stretch out before me now…
Thank you for posting the recipe! I have a date with my oven tomorrow afternoon to make some Father’s Day biscotti. :) Do you have an estimated yield for these? I’m making them for two dads (mine and The Boy’s), so that would be helpful info in the decision of whether to make one batch or two.
P.S. I sent your package yesterday!
Hey – no recipe! Is this in your book or planned for the upcoming book?