When I think of biscotti, I always envision traditional anise flavored biscuits. Because I happen to be someone who truly loves a strong, licorice-like taste. But if you are familiar with this site, you know I have several biscotti recipes already posted that do not include anise. So, if you happen to fall in the category that is not anise addicted, I still have you covered. (Just search under “biscotti”, and all will be revealed.)

And I should mention that I already have an anise biscotti recipe on site that is the same as this one except for the addition of anise seed in this recipe. I could have simply updated the original recipe, but I thought it would be more fun to publish this version too. (After all, choices are always nice.) Anyway, these are now my new favorite traditional anise flavored biscotti.

So, lets talk a bit about how easy biscotti biscuits are to build. The dough is basically like many cookie doughs. Cream the butter and sugar together, add eggs and flavoring. Then whisk the flour, leavening (in this case baking powder), and salt together. Then combine the whole mess. But where in drop cookies you simply plop balls of dough on a baking sheet, or rolled cookies, where you cut the rolled-out dough into various shapes, with biscotti you form logs. Then you bake the logs for a short time, remove them from the oven, let them cool a bit, then cut the logs into slices, and bake them a second time until they are done. It may sound like more work then plopping or rolling, but it actually takes very little skill to make perfectly formed biscotti biscuits.

And I’m telling you true, there is just nothing better than a biscotto (singular of biscotti) dunked in your morning coffee or tea. So, you simply must give biscotti a try. And if you have been making biscotti for decades – Saluti!

As always, stay safe and stay focused on the well being of others. If you haven’t been vaccinated against covid, please consider the health of those with whom you make contact. You may be extremely healthy, but you can’t tell from just looking at someone whether or not they too share your good fortune. They could have an immune deficient condition that is not apparent. And even if they have been vaccinated, it would still be very unhealthy for them to contract the disease. So, please don’t make this all about you. Because it is not all about you or your personal rights or about your being a faithful member of your chosen political party! Politics has absolutely nothing to do with fighting a disease. Covid-19 has no affiliation with any political party. It has no political agenda. It’s only mission, if you care to define it as a mission, is to attack people’s lungs and possibly cause an overactive immune response which can lead to increased inflammation throughout our bodies. So, getting vaccinated is necessary if we hope to stop the spread of this deadly disease. Getting vaccinated is simply about saving lives! Yours included. Nothing else. Please do your part.

Peace and love to all.

½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. granulated sugar

3 lg. eggs, room temp.

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. good anise extract

2 tsp. ground anise seed

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 c. slivered almonds, lightly toasted  

Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the eggs, vanilla, anise extract, and ground anise seeds. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine with butter mixture. Stir in the slivered almonds.

Using your hands liberally coated with flour, divide the dough into 4 pieces on a floured surface. Pat each piece into a 12×1½-inch rectangle. Place on a large lightly greased baking sheet about 4 inches apart. (Use more than one baking sheet if necessary.) Bake the logs in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Remove from oven.

Cool for 15 minutes. Then cut each roll on a slight diagonal into ¾-inch thick slices. Turn the slices cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until each piece is firm and nicely browned. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet(s). Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note: I suggest baking biscotti with straight oven heat. Convection baking browns them too quickly.