About 14 years ago I made my first biscotti.  It was also the point at which I bought my can’t-live-without Kitchen Aid stand mixer (the big one)–it’s still going strong and I’ve only had to replace with whipping attachment once!

At this point in my life I was dating an Italian chef, so I was a little concerned about my ability to live up to whatever preconceived notions his family had about an Irish girl being able to make anything Italian.

I found this great recipe in a Cooking Light Magazine, which is still on the shelf with all my cookbooks so I can refer to it easily.  I’ve been able to use this same recipe and substitute in other sweet tidbits for the toffee bits, and they come out just as tasty and delicious.  I often choose to use cinnamon chips and when I’m ready to eat one with my tea, I pop it into the microwave for about 15 seconds…oh, it is SO good!

Today I want to thank that chef’s aunt, who said to me after tasting my biscotti, “And, you’re not Italian?!”  Hope you enjoy this recipe; they make a great hostess gift during the holidays.

Ingredients

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup almond toffee bits (such as Hershey’s Heath Bits O’ Brickle)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, granulated sugar, toffee bits, brown sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Combine vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs; add to flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (dough will be dry and crumbly). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 7 to 8 times. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees; bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

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