Lemon Walnut Biscotti

Have you ever made biscotti?  If not, try it!  They are so easy.  Now these are not for the die-hard sweet-tooths.  These are much subtler.  There is a sweetness, but these hard, crunchy Italian biscuits are perfect for coffee/tea-dunking.  Not having much of a sweet-tooth, I tend to make biscotti more often (for myself) then say a cookie, and this recipe hit the top of the charts in my opinion.

The reason: there is a tremendous lemony taste and lots of crunchy walnuts.  While I do like the subtleness of an almond-flavored biscotti sprinkled with some slivers of almonds, this recipe just screams nuts and citrus.

A plus:  you can make these days ahead of time as they will keep for days.  And this recipe makes a bunch!  About five dozen!  And don't go light on the raw sugar sprinkles on top.  Due to the slight amount of sugar in the cookie recipe, you'll want that bit of sweetness on the top.


LEMON WALNUT BISCOTTI (makes about 5 dozen cookies)

3 cups AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
10 Tbsp (10 1/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1 large egg, beaten
Raw sugar

Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl until blended.  Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just to blend after each addition.  Beat in lemon juice, then flour mixture.  Stir in walnuts.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces.  Place each piece on sheet of plastic wrap.  Using plastic wrap as aid, form dough into 8" long logs.  Press logs slightly, flattening to 2 1/2" wide logs.  Enclose in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 325F.  Line heavy large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unwrap logs, leaving on plastic (this will help clean-up).  Brush top with egg glaze.  Sprinkle generously with raw sugar.  Lift logs from plastic and transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.

Bake until golden brown and just firm to touch, about 50 minutes.  Transfer to rack and cool completely.  Reduce oven temp to 300F.

(NOTE:  The biscotti are very tender, so work carefully and be sure to use a serrated knife when slicing the logs for the second baking.)

Line 2 heavily rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using long serrated knife, carefully cut logs crosswise into 1/2" thick slices.  Arrange biscotti, cut side down, on prepared baking sheets.  Bake cookies until golden brown around edges, about 20 minutes.  Cool completely (biscotti will crisp as they cool). 

Can be made three days ahead.  Stir in airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe Source:  Bon Appetit