The Fat Tuscan Almond Biscotti
The Fat Tuscan Almond Biscotti
I’m chef and owner of a little café in the heart of Florida. As an Italian American with a Southerner’s bold charm, I teach fun, interactive cooking classes & cater small intimate events for every occasion at my venue. My place has the feel of a European café with the same old world touches and warm ambiance. This means, I get the best of both worlds, living in the little green tree town called Gainesville, full of its college kids, hippies, and southerners, and still feeling like I’ve stepped into the streets of Italy when I’m at the café. In my classes I start out by telling my students there is no big secret to cooking, besides cooking with love. It is just a matter of taking the time to cook something well and to cook it with the idea of watching someone’s happy face as they eat it. Of course, the other big secret I tell them, is to ply guests with a constant stream of wine which helps in case you accidentally happen to burn anything. ‘A little more wine’ never hurts in cooking, whether for the food or for yourself, Ha. As for my teaching style, picture a mixture of the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, Julia Childs with an Italian flair instead of French, and an Italian Grandmother. Specifically my Grandmother, Nonna Maria, who was the best chef and teacher of how to love food. She was a woman who taught me to see beauty and love in food & cooking from her simple kitchen table in Rome when I was a child. From her, I learned how to eat with my eyes and enjoy food, with not just my taste buds, but to experience food with touch and smell and memory too. All the senses, coming together to play a part in learning to enjoy life at its simplest pleasures. And so, I opened the Fat Tuscan and began teaching with hopes to pass on some of her wisdom. You don’t have to go halfway around the world to learn these things, because I am here to teach and inspire each one of you if you will let me. Below is one of my first recipes I created on my own, right before I opened the Café. It was probably the first true original recipe I made, and I would like to share it with you. It is for Almond Biscotti, which is basically an Italian cookie meant to be dipped in hot espresso or cappuccino in the morning for breakfast. I hope you enjoy it and hope to see you soon in a cooking class or two.
Chef Michelle
Ingredients
2 + 1/2 cup Sugar
4 eggs plus 2 egg yolks at room temp. (save whites for later)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups sliced almonds, toasted and roughly chopped.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 Degrees.
- Pour the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the mixing bowl and add the eggs, baking powder, salt, vanilla and almond extracts to the center.
- Work flour into the ingredients until smooth. You may use a stand mixer (use dough hook) or do it by hand. *Dough is sticky.
- Knead almonds 1 cup at a time into dough until thoroughly distributed. Grease 2 baking sheets. Divide dough in half.
- Roll each half on a floured work surface into long logs. Place logs onto cookie sheets and slightly flatten with your hands.
- Optional: Beat egg whites with 1 tbsp water and brush over tops of logs and lightly sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 30 to 50 minutes depending on your oven. Tops will turn a light brown.
- Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees. Cut logs diagonally into 1/2 inch slices and lay, cut side up on sheets.
- Return cut cookies to the oven for 15 minutes more.
- Cool on racks.
- Cookies will last up to 2 weeks in airtight containers.
- Dip in Hot Coffee for best results! 🙂