Click
Picture For Link to the Above Featured Recipe
The Italians use the
term biscotti to refer to any type of cookie. In North America,
biscotti is used to describe a long, dry, hard twice-baked cookie with a
curved top and flat bottom designed for dunking into wine or coffee. The name biscotti is derived from 'bis' meaning twice in Italian and 'cotto'
meaning baked or cooked.
Biscotti is said to have
originated during Columbus's time and credited to an Italian baker who
originally served them with Tuscan wines. They became so popular
that every province developed their own flavored version. Because
of their long storage ability they were an ideal food for sailors,
soldiers, and fisherman.
Most European countries
have adopted their own version of biscotti: English - rusks, French -
biscotte and croquets de carcassonne, Germans - zwieback, Greeks -
biskota and paxemadia, Jewish - mandelbrot, and Russians - sukhariki.
continued below
Traditionally biscotti
were almond flavored as almonds were readily available in Italy and
nearby countries. Now your imagination is the only limiting factor to
what can be added to these popular cookies; dried fruits, chocolate,
different varieties of nuts, seeds, spices, etc. Frequently found iced
with melted chocolate or frostings, and topped with nuts and even
colored sprinkles.
The sticky dough is
first shaped into a 12 inch (30cm) log and baked until firm. After a
short cooling period, the log is sliced into diagonal slices and baked
again to draw out the moisture thus producing a crisp, dry textured
cookie that has a long shelf life. Recipes containing butter or oil will
have a softer texture and will not keep as long as the traditional
recipes that only use eggs to bind the ingredients together.
Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is
entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or
Rick Jaworski
will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting
from the use.
This
website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner
of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster,
Inc.
Content in any form may
not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski,
Joyofbaking.com. Students and non profit educators may use content without
permission with proper credit.
Page loading ... Please wait.
