Non-tough Biscotti

[oakjoan]

I have made biscotti numerous times with less than stellar success. They taste good but are tough and not crispy the way they are when you buy them from Peet's coffee or at a bakery.

Anybody have a good recipe? I've made them with eggs, without eggs, with more butter and less butter.... help me out here.

[mattrapp]

Try cutting them thinner, and a longer,lower temperature second baking.

[Robert Lauriston]

Biccotti are supposed to be hard and crunchy. That's why they're traditionally dunked in wine.

If you want them softer, look for a recipe with more butter. But that's not traditional, and they tend to fall apart when dunked.

[oakjoan]

I am not talking about softer biscotti and I know what traditional biscotti taste and feel like. Mine are tough in a different way. They're not crisp-tough, but thick tough....if anybody can understand what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the advice all.

[Smokey]

oakjoan--i totally understand what you're talking about (I understood the distinction you drew between "tough" and "crispy" that Mr. Lauriston didn't). Unfortunately, I don't have any good advice. In addition to no overworking the dough, do you think you're slicing the biscotti too thick?

[Katie Nell]

Me too, my biscotti have almost always turned out like this, but I kind of like them this way too, more like a hard cookie. I'll ask my mom, because she's made biscotti more than I have.

[chef auletta]

Try to not play with the dough too much. I find with just about anything (except yeast) that it helps if you touch and mess around with the batter as little as possible. I have a great recipe for cranberry-pistachio biscotti from epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

It is always a hit whenever I make it... sometimes I'll substitute almonds for the pistachios. Enjoy!

[sheiladeedee]

I think this may be the same cranberry-pistachio biscotti that was featured in a Gourmet magazine article on biscotti years ago. I make that regularly around Christmas for my sister's cookie platters. The green and red make a wonderful holiday look and they taste good. The same dough works with other combinations of fruit and nuts. I like using dried cherries with slivered almonds, with a bit of almond extract.

[PseudoNerd]

Try making them with less flour and more fillers such as nuts, chocolate, and especially dried fruits. It wouldn't be a pure biscotti, but you could also substitute some of the flour with something that doesn't bind together as tightly-- almond meal would be excellent.

[sheiladeedee]

Are you baking them long enough? They need to be thoroughly dried out after the second baking. Then keep them in airtight storage if the weather is humid.

[scott123]

Toughness in cookies is almost always a gluten issue. Overmixing will create cause toughness. You want to mix these only until incorporated. Fat, to an extent, prevents gluten from forming, so extra butter will give you an increase in tenderness. Lastly, a lower protein flour will make a huge difference. I use unbleached pastry flour for all my cookies/crusts, which I purchase by the pound from my local bakery.