If you haven’t discovered biscotti, then listen up! It’s one of the easiest cookies to make, and the flavour combos are virtually endless. This time around, I’ve opted for a ginger-cinnamon-cloves-meets-oatmeal-laced-with-nutmeg idea, and of course, packed with irresistible toasted almonds. Understand that biscotti is a method and when it comes to add-ins – anything goes. And by anything I’m talking nuts, dried fruit, herbs & spices – there alone, are 100’s of combinations.
I must confess, I’m becoming slightly obsessed with these little Italian wonders and have fig, walnut & orange in the hopper and am already thinking I need to lace a batch with rosemary or parmesan or olives or sundried tomatoes, and, without sounding like a seal – or, or, or – would be very tasty alongside a bowl of soup, stew or salad – so stay tuned and go whip yourself up a batch of these bad boys – there’s worse ways to get a hit of oatmeal!
click here to jump down to the biscotti with spices, almonds & oatmeal recipe
1. First, get the almonds toasted and set aside to cool – you may think they’re slightly over-toasty, but when you chop ’em up, they’re right on the money!
2. Get the butter & sugar in your mixer.
3. Get it going – it’ll be grainy at first.
4. Keep mixing until it looks like this.
5. Eggs and vanilla are next.
6. Add them to the mixer and give it another 3-5 minutes.
7. It’ll look like this at the beginning of the mix.
8. And it’ll look like this at the end.
9. Nice and light and fluffy.
10. Chop the cooled almonds and set aside.
11. Measure out the dry ingredients onto a piece of waxed paper – makes mixing and pouring very easy.
12. Mix it all around – a pastry scraper works great.
13. Add half the dry ingredients and mix on slow to just combine.
14. And add the rest and give it another mix.
15. Before adding the almonds.
16. You’ll have a loose dough that looks like this.
17. Bring it into a ball.
18. Put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
19. Cut it in 2.
20. Using the parchment paper, roll into a log. Just squish and pull it into shape. Don’t use your bare hands.
21. Like this.
22. Do the same with the other half.
23. Using waxed paper over top, you can further manipulate the shape if necessary.
24. Now it’s ready for the oven.
25. After 20 minutes it will look like this. Allow to cool slightly before slicing into 1/2-1″ thick pieces.
26. Lay the pieces flat and bake another 20 minutes until golden.
27. Just like this – crunchy spiced biscotti, that’ll disappear faster than the truth at OJ’s trial, if you don’t hide them from all who have any knowledge of their existence!
biscotti with spices, almonds & oatmeal
INGREDIENTS & METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Roast in hot, dry pan for 10 minutes and set aside:
- 1 cup of almonds
3. In a mixing bowl beat until light, fluffy & smooth, about 5 minutes:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
4. Add the following to the butter mixture and continue beating for another couple of minutes:
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
5. Sift the following onto a piece of waxed paper and funnel into the bowl with the eggs & butter mixture:
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup oats
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. each ground ginger & cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
6. Chop the cooled almonds and add them to the soft dough mixture, mixing briefly to incorporate. Divide in 2 and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll each half into a 2″x12″ long log.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm. Briefly rest and then slice diagonally into thin slices. Arrange cut-side down and bake another 20 minutes until dry and crispy. Allow to cool. Store in an air-tight container.
get creative
crush sweet biscotti and:
- sprinkle over ice cream
- add to a fruit crisp topping
- stir into waffle or pancake batter
- put in a bowl and top with stewed fruit and whipped cream
crush savoury biscotti and:
- sprinkle over mashed potatoes
- stir into buttery pasta
- sprinkle over soups or stews
- fold into rice
- add to salads for added crunch
- finish a pizza
the business of biscotti
When I’m talking biscotti – this always deserves repeating – biscotti can accommodate as many flavour combinations as you can toss at it – so happy tossing and here are a few biscotti variations to get you warmed up:
sweet biscotti
- the ultimate biscotti recipe guide
- biscotti with almonds, cranberries & cornmeal
- almond citrus biscotti
- almond ginger biscotti
- butterscotch whole-wheat biscotti
- cherry almond biscotti
- chocolate pistachio biscotti
- cranberry pistachio biscotti
- double chocolate ginger biscotti
- fig walnut biscotti
- gingerbread biscotti
- granola biscotti
- lime cornmeal biscotti
- pecan cranberry biscotti
- pine nut biscotti
- pumpkin biscotti
- triple chocolate biscotti
- turkish delight & pistachio biscotti
- whole-wheat lemon biscotti
- whole-wheat walnut raisin biscotti
savoury biscotti
- blue cheese, port & walnut biscotti
- cheddar chive biscotti
- hazelnut rosemary biscotti
- herb & goat cheese biscotti
- olive biscotti
- parmesan black pepper biscotti
- red wine biscotti
- rosemary walnut biscotti
- savoury fennel parmesan biscotti
- sun-dried tomato and basil biscotti
This biscotti looks delicious. I love the spices that are in this recipe along with the oats, yummy.
Hope you try it and I’ve started adding oats to many batches of biscotti, just a little, in place of some of the flour.
These look wonderful!! I love biscotti but have never tried to make it. I have to say your recipe plus the great pictures make it look very doable! This may be something I have to try. Might be fun to do with the kids during Easter/Spring break. Thanks! I just found you over at voiceBoks and am now happily following.
Wow, thanks for the positive feedback! It is very doable. I’m working on another biscotti recipe and can’t wait to get to a savoury batch!
I’ll head over to your site and see what’s cookin’ in your kitchen!