Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti : Bake-Along #72

It's time for our bake #72 at Bake-Along, and our theme is "Christmas Theme : Biscotti". Even though biscotti can be baked anytime of the year, it is best shared during Christmas, and a box of homemade crispy biscotti makes a lovely gift for this festive season.

Do join us ; Lena, Zoe and myself, bake any biscotti recipe and link your post in the linky below.

My first biscotti post for this theme, Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti. I have made several other biscotti and will post them soon.

Biscotti are traditional Italian cookie, perfect for dunking in coffee, espresso or even milk, if you prefer! These cookies are baked twice,  very crispy, and can keep for weeks in an air-tight container. Should they become softened, they can be toasted in the oven until crispy.

To make biscotti, firstly, make the dough by using the required ingredients, shape them into long, slightly flattened logs, bake for about 20 minutes until slightly brown and set. Cool for about 15 minutes, and cut into 1/2 inch slices at a diagonal. Place the sliced pieces on a baking sheet, and bake as per instructions in the recipe, until light brown and crisp. 

This Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti is so crispy, delicious and perfect with a cup of hot coffee. The recipe uses instant espresso coffee powder and coffee liqueur, which I've used Kahlua. It smells incredibly good while these are baking. I did reduce the sugar by half and it was still a little sweet for me, but lovely when dipped in strong black coffee. I like my biscotti to be really crispy, so I have baked them a little longer than the recipe calls for, until they were really brown all around the edges. When my last piece was gone a few days later, I was wishing there was more for my morning cuppa! Yum!

** my changes listed in blue
Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti
(adapted from "Bake Something Great", Jill Snider)

• Preheat oven to 375F (190C)
• Cookie sheet, greased or lined with parchment paper

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt (omitted, use salted butter)

2 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened (125gm)

1 cup granulated sugar (1/2 cup)

2 eggs

2 tbsp coffee liqueur (Kahlua)

3 squares (1oz/28gm each) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (100gm choc chips)

Glaze

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp turbinado sugar (demerara sugar)

1. On a sheet of waxed paper or in a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, espresso powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add liqueur. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until dough becomes too stiff for the mixer, then finish mixing with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate. Using your hands, knead to form a smooth dough.
3. Divide dough into halves. Shape each into a roll 12 inches (30cm) long. Place about 4 inches (10cm) apart on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten rolls to 2 inches (5cm) wide, leaving top slightly rounded.
4. Glaze : Brush top of rolls with beaten egg. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over top. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until set and lightly browned around edges. Cool for 15 minutes on sheet, then trransfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) slices. Stand upright on cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool for 5 minutes on sheet, then transfer to a rack and cool completely.

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Do stop by Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking "Theme : Mille Feuille (Napoleon)". Please do join us, bake any Mille Feuille recipe, also known as Napoleon, and link your post to our linky which will start on 8th till 17h January. Everyone is welcome to join us! Only current post please.

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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 I'm linking this post to :
Cook & Celebrate Christmas 2014 hosted by Bake For Happy Kids, Eat Your Heart Out and Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

and

Cook-Your-Books #19 @ kitchen flavours

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