Cardamom Pecan Biscotti

01 Feb 2012 52 Comments

by yummychunklet in Randomness

For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to make homemade biscotti. Now I don’t drink coffee that often, and when I do, I rarely eat biscotti. But, these Italian cookies are so tasty and versatile that I thought making a batch would be fun. And, if I’m being completely honest, I wanted to make my own biscotti for use in a future recipe that I’ll post later in February. I used an amalgamation of biscotti recipes I found online because I couldn’t find one specifically for a cardamom pecan version. Below is an approximation of the recipes mashed together.

Cardamom Pecan Biscotti
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. shelled green cardamom from pods
1 1/3 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla and both types of cardamom. By hand, stir in pecans until combined.

Place dough onto floured work surface and divide in half. Shape each piece into 12 x 2 inch flattened logs and transfer onto baking sheets. Brush each log slightly with water and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 35 minutes until lightly brown. Cool for 10 minutes and reduce oven to 300 degrees. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices, depending on how fat and squatty you like your biscotti. Arrange the slices cut side down on baking sheets. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Take the cookies out, flip them over, and bake for another 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.