Italian Biscotti

I love a nice cappuccino paired with a lovely biscotti for dipping. Unfortunately, I am a bit picky when it comes to sweets.  For some reason, I don't particularly enjoy whole nuts in my desserts, and I really don't like the taste of anise (black licorice).

Imagine how disappointed I was when I bought biscotti from the North End. Every piece either had whole almonds inside or was doused with anise extract.

It was time to make my own.

I love this version from The Joy of Cooking. It uses lemon and orange zest and has absolutely no nuts! Furthermore, it's low fat, with each serving having only 2g of fat!  And finally, most importantly, it's delicious!


Ingredients
Dry Ingredients 

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 ts salt

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup corn or canola oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the dry ingredients thoroughly.  In a separate bowl, beat the wet ingredients together with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  You can zest the lemon and the orange with a small grater, like I did in this post.

Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well blended and smooth.  Shape the dough into two even shaped logs, about 11 x 1 1/2 inches.  The dough is a bit sticky, so you can either use plastic wrap or use lightly floured hands.

Arrange the logs far away from each other, as they will expand.  Flatten each log.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the logs from the baking sheet and let them cool for about 10 minutes on a cooling wrack (if you have one - I didn't have one for years, so I just let them cool on the baking sheet).   Carefully move the log (trying not to break it) onto a cutting board.

Slice diagonally into 3/8 inch slices.

Lay the slices sideways on the sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the slices over and the bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Let cool and serve!

Enjoy!