Recipe from Mark Sopchak
Adapted by Ligaya Mishan
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus 3 hours’ cooling
- Rating
- 4(683)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The word “biscotti” comes from the Latin biscoctus, or twice cooked: The dough is rolled into logs and given a spell in the oven, then cooled, sliced and slotted back in to bake a little more. The second turn in the oven essentially sucks them dry and gives them that signature crunch. Too much crunch, however, and they can be a little flinty. The pastry chef Mark Sopchak makes biscotti that are shorter and narrower — “Biscottini!” an Italian passerby once said — and ever so slightly softer, with the addition of butter. These cookies are thin enough to snap smartly under the teeth and then obligingly crumble. Inspired in part by Mexican mole, they have a touch of creaminess from cashews and a wild streak of chile powder, just enough to make you hum. —Ligaya Mishan
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Ingredients
Yield:36 to 40 small biscotti
- 2cups/272 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ⅓cup/32 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ¼teaspoon salt
- ½cup/114 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾cup/151 grams granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 2tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 2large eggs
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔cup/85 grams roasted and unsalted cashews, roughly chopped
- ½cup/100 grams chocolate chips (any type)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (38 servings)
96 calories; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 48 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step
2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and chile powder on medium-low speed until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes.
Step
3
Increase the speed to medium. With the mixer running, add the eggs, 1 at a time, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed, then add the vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.
Step
4
Turn the speed to low and, with the mixer running, add the flour mixture a little at a time. Continue mixing until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed, then add the cashews and chocolate chips all at once. Keep mixing until the cashews and chocolate have integrated and a thick dough has formed.
Step
5
Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a 12-inch log. (You can use a sheet of wax or parchment paper to help roll the dough evenly, or dust with extra flour if the dough is sticky.) Place both logs on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper, then flatten both logs with your palms until about 1-inch thick. Sprinkle each with a little granulated sugar to evenly coat.
Step
6
Bake until the logs lose their sheen, 20 to 25 minutes. There should still be some softness in the middle of each log when gently pressed. Be careful not to overbake, as the logs may break when sliced later.
Step
7
Turn off the oven, take out the biscotti and let cool on the sheet pan for a few hours. (The longer they rest, the easier they will be to slice without breaking.)
Step
8
For the second bake, heat the oven to 300 degrees. (The temperature is lower for gentler, more even baking.)
Step
9
Using a serrated knife, slice each log at an angle into ½-inch slices. You may trim and discard the ends or bake them along with the other slices — they taste just as good. Place the slices, cut sides down, on the same parchment-lined half-sheet pan. (You don’t need to be careful about spacing them out.)
Step
10
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the biscotti are no longer soft to the touch. They will harden a little further after cooling. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the pan. The biscotti will keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.
Ratings
4
out of 5
683
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Cooking Notes
MJWellness
I was so excited about the recipe, I dove into making them post haste! Delicious and being a woman who has been making Mandel bread for decades since my Bubbala taught me, the surprise was adding butter! Of course they were even more original with ancho chili’s and cashews (I usually use almonds) Do try a darker chocolate chip, it makes the difference for me… But I think they’re a modern take in a classic.
ocean lover
For biscotti I heat the butter to be a liquid. It makes it much easier to mix. I hope this helps if you don’t have a mixer. I have a mixer but don’t see any reason to dirty more dishes. One bowl and one spoon.
joan
While I have not made these yet, I've made hundreds of batches of biscotti over my career as a pastry chef and my one bit of advice would be when you bake them a second time to leave them standing on their flat side so that both sides of the biscotti can reach the heat of the oven evenly.
Mette
I’m sorry to say although I think this is a good recipe in every other way the ancho chili powder is all wrong. Other Mexican chocolate cookie recipes use cayenne. I think the ancho ads a savory smoky almost meaty quality that I find repulsive.
Maureen Rosen
Sounds wonderful. I have perfected my anise almond biscotti and make it in almost the same way. No dry cocoa, of course, and leaving the sliced, baked cookies in the turned-off oven overnight gets the crunch just right. Vanilla dough, almond extract, anise seed. After bakingand cooling, I dip each cookie in dark chocolate then chill. Even after weeks in the freezer they are amazing.
Kroobey
Wonderful recipe and perfect for the holidays. Like another reader, I used cayenne instead of ancho. More those with ready access to the ancho, cayenne works well.Not a subscriber to Cooking, nice to see a nifty free recipe.
Lisa
Pamela, I have found that biscotti make fantastic gluten-free cookies. That slightly sandy/gritty quality that many gluten-free flours have is not a detractor with a product this dry. Even better, every biscotti recipe I’ve tried has been easy to make with gluten-free flour without further adjustments! Enjoy.
Laura
To use regular cocoa replace baking powder with 1/2 the amount of baking soda.
Sally
It’s much easier to cut biscotti while the loaf is still warm. I wait about 1/2hr and then use a super-sharp serrated bread knife to do the cutting.
Angela
I could not easily find ancho powder so I substituted 1/2 chipotle, and 1/2 sweet paprika. Spicy, smoky and delicious.
Gena Raps
I had chocolate pepper biscotti in Venice and almost cried. For years have tried to reproduced this delectable treat. Off to the grocery store to buy the ingredients.
TriciaPDX
You're right, two Tbs would really clear your sinuses! Ancho chilis are pretty mild in comparison.Use one Tbs or even two tsp. of cayenne instead of a 1-1 ingredient swap.
Alva
I suggest using a small hand mixer. I've also baked using a whisk to incorporate the butter and sugar together. Don't let the instructions to use a stand mixer deter you. The important part is to follow the instructions for the texture that should be achieved. Go for it! I plan on making this as well as other biscotti for a sampler plate- lemon biscotti with cranberries, walnut biscotti, orange biscotti.
lee
What does one do if one does not have a stand mixer? Small kitchen.
Seagreen
Make sure your Chile powder is fresh. My attempt was inedible.
Leila
Okay I’m in Australia and we don’t have that kind of chilli powder. I used 1tsp of our supermarket chilli powder instead and it was too spicy for some.
Andrea
Made this and they're so good! I went 1/2 tsp cayenne and 1/2 tsp ancho and I'm very glad I did. They're smoky enough with a 1/2 tsp of the ancho already! But I'm glad I added the cayenne more more of that classic spicy "kick"
JoAnn
These were tasty but were more like brownie brittle than biscotti.
Evie
Ancho gave nice, smoky flavor, but not very hot for us. More ancho would likely be too smoky. I used sliced almonds (forgot to buy cashews!) and big chunk chocolate. First log (20 min, soft center, as directed) was crumbly. Put 2nd log in for more bake. It was easier to slice (my oven, YMMV) but every biscotti I've made with butter has been more crumbly than crisp. I plan to try ancho/chunk chocolate/cocoa (with added cayenne?), but with my 'go to' biscotti recipe that has no eggs.
Sharon Magaliff
Have not made these yet but was surprised by the amount of ancho chili powder of 2 TBSP. If you substitute cayenne about how much should you use?
Sue Huntley
Ancho chili POWDER has been something I cannot find. Can I substitute ancho chili pepper?
Nellbarr
Very good but also very spicy. I ended up making it 3 times and reducing the spice each time. Final version had about 1.5 teaspoon of the chili powder and that was enough.
AMB
I used 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder and 1/8 tsp cayenne powder. Perfect level of heat for me!
helen
I made these exactly as written and they are quite fabulous, but dangerous: I ate all the end pieces before the second bake and a couple more after that! Great depth of flavor and I love that they are not too sweet, even with the chocolate chips added in. Total keeper!
crlnwill
I ground a dried ancho in a coffee grinder. One ancho made almost exactly one T. Next time I will use two anchos for the two full Ts called for in the recipe. I like chile and chocolate and 1 T isn't enough. I used Hershey's cocoa with 3/4t baking soda (no baking powder), walnuts and hand mixed. Really good and no problems with slicing.
Shanny Bee
Made once with half the ancho powder. Nice. Made the second time with all the ancho. Perfect. Substituted Mini Chips.
Tina
I made these using 1 tsp of cayenne because I did not have pure ancho chili powder, (just the chili powder blend that incudes other spices/herbs). It was a good amount of heat, but didn't really add any depth of flavor. Next time I will buy the pure ancho powder and see if it is worth it. Otherwise the biscotti was good. I couldn't find roasted cashews that were also unsalted so I got raw and toasted them at home which worked well.
Brendan
Could the baking powder, salt, vanilla extract be converted to weight? Particularly the salt, I'm just going to assume that's kosher salt and hope for the best.
Harriet
Can you make cookies out of this recipe instead of biscotti? If so, can I use recipe as written or do I need to make some changes and if so what are the changes?
Love this dish!
HOWEVER, used 2 T of cayenne and a 1/4 t of Vietnamese Cinnamon. I think 1.5 T of the cayenne would be more than enough. Very spicy. I will try it again with a little more cashews as well.
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