Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Biscotti

Hi guys!

Spring has finally found its way to Switzerland and I got very excited to get outside and soak up some much needed sunshine. But I also started thinking about drinking that perfect cup of coffee outside in the sunshine after lunch or in the afternoon on the weekend and as good weather mostly reminds me of the south of Europe, I turned to some classic Italian biscuits to garnish my coffee. The recipe comes from Cynthia Barcomi's "I love baking" and it is super easy. 

Here's the recipe:
280g (1 + 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
50g (1/2 cup) hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
about 1 teaspoon vanille extract or 5 pumps vanilla paste
175g (3/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon) sugar
2 eggs
45g (1/3 stick) unsalted butter
175g (6 oz) dark chocolate
100g (3,5 oz) hazelnuts

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Roast the whole hazelnuts in a pan until they turn dark brown and start smelling to intensify their flavour. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set aside. In the same pan, melt the butter over low heat.

2) Combine the flour, ground hazelnuts, bicarb, baking powder, salt, vanilla and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and butter and beat with a wooden spoon or spatula or with a kitchen machine until a dough forms. 

3) Finely chop the chocolate and mix in the dough along with the chopped hazelnuts. 

4) Line a baking tray with baking paper. Divide the dough in half, form into long rolls and slightly press them down on the baking paper to a rectangular shape. 

5) Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes. 

6) Transfer the two parts onto a cutting board and slice each large biscuit into slices, about 1 cm (1/2 inch) wide. Place the slices cut side up back on the baking tray. 

7) Bake for another 7 minutes, take the tray out of the oven and turn the biscuits on the other cut side. Bake for 6-8 minutes more until golden brown. Let them cool on a cooling rack.

Yield: about 40 
Active preparation time: 25 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes
© Copyright: Cynthia Barcomi, "I love Baking", p. 133.

Here's how mine turned out:

I love the intense flavour the hazelnut creates and the combination with dark chocolate is simply heavenly. I divided the dough in three parts as while baking, the dough will widen quite a bit and I like my bicotti or cantuccini smaller. It allows you to enjoy those little treats over and over and over... I also chopped the chocolate very finely. I tried almost slicing it and chopping it after so I would get a hint of chocolate with every bite. A big part of those were wrapped up and brought to friends - everybody loved them so if you're looking for small present and want to come up with something else than the usual bottle of wine, these make ideal presents. And they look very pretty packed up. I normally use small, see-through bags meant for holding candy that you can buy at any normal grocery store. 

Have fun trying and happy beginning of spring!