Vicenzina’s Biscotti
My ex-husband’s mother, Vincenzina (Vini, as she liked to be called), passed away last April. The grief I felt at her passing was deep, and I miss her everyday for the generous woman that she was to me. She wasn’t perfect. Old-school Italian from Verbicaro, a small town in Cosenza (Calabria, Italy), she was stubborn, lied with enviable polish, and was shockingly racist. Yet, despite these huge character flaws, she was a talented cook, was loving and devoted and fiercely loyal to my children, and was the mother I never had.
And she made delicious biscotti. Here is her recipe:
The basic biscotti recipe calls for flour, anise seed, butter, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, and the best vanilla extract you can find. The variation, here, is adding almonds, orange extract, and orange peel!
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (half a stick) unsalted butter (if you only have is salted butter that’s OK, but reduce your salt to a very small pinch of salt)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 teaspoons orange peel, finely minced
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of anise seeds (possible substitutions include fennel seeds, caraway seeds, coarsely ground star anise, etc)
Preheat oven (convection) to bake at 350°
Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stove, then set aside and let cool a bit.
Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl, then blend in the salt and sugar.
In a separate small bowl, stir vanilla into lightly beaten egg. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, mix, and then add butter and mix well. Add Anise seeds.*
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough on the lined baking sheet and pat it out into a log shape about 8-10 inches long, 2-3 inches wide, and 1/2 inch thick.
Bake the log for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and set. Remove the biscotti log from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, move the log to a cutting board and slice on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch thick. Arrange slices on their sides, return to the baking sheet.
Once cooled, move it to a cutting board and slice the log on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arranging slices on their sides, return to the baking sheet, and bake.
Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the biscotti are set. Using a spatula, move the biscotti off the hot baking sheet onto a rack to cool.
Now, last step: make your favorite espresso, dip your fresh biscotti in your coffee, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and you are now transported to a small town in Southern Italy.
Lessons from my Mother:
Vanilla extract is your secret weapon for any sweet dessert.
I used organic butter and sugar, just because.
When measuring dry goods, such as sugar and flour, never pack your measuring cup unless the instructions tell you to. Lightly spoon your ingredients into the correct measuring cup, and level with the back of a knife. This will ensure consistent and accurate measurements every time.
Be careful with baking soda, even a tiny bit over the measure can give your baked goods a funny taste. Not enough will give you a soft cookie with no crunch.
Creaming and sifting are important because they ensure all your ingredients are fully incorporated, preventing surprise flavors from showing up when eating, and they ensure even cooking. For example, you don’t want to bite into a tiny baking soda pocket in your cookie.
Use parchment paper when preparing your cookie sheets. It’s easy, doesn’t stick, feels clean and you will know your ingredients are exact.
I like to use extra-large eggs in all my recipes because they give added richness.
Always cool your cookies after removing them from the oven on a wire rack. The wire rack allows air to circulate around your cookie, allowing it to develop fully. By not using a wire rack, or allowing air to circulate above and below your cookie, you will have a cookie with a mushy center or it will be hard.
The products I used in this recipe are:
Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (I wouldn’t know what else to use, it’s the only baking soda I see at the store, and it’s what my mother used when I was a child)