Back in October, I embarked upon a 2-month-long adventure: Baking for Pure by Cuppa – the cafe/juicebar inside Harvey Nichols İstanbul (while holding my full-time job, I must add).
In our first meeting with the managers, they asked me to come up with a cookie that has a fairly long shelf life. What better than Biscotti, I thought. Also, to our knowledge, there were not any other coffee shops that sold Biscottis, so we thought it was spot on.
The turnover was much higher than anticipated. Even tough we didn’t need a cookie with a long shelf life any more, Biscottis stayed on the menu and quickly became the best-selling item.
I tested many recipes for these Biscottis and came up with the following, which is a combination of many recipes. Since I don’t bake for the cafe anymore, I can safely share the recipe. Hope you like it.
By the way, baking them on a wire rack the second time around makes them extra crunchy.
HAZELNUT BISCOTTI RECIPE
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
- 1 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
- 4 eggs
- 4 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the hazelnuts.
- Flour your hands (the dough is quite sticky) and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut in half and shape each into a 16 by 2 inch log. Place them onto the baking tray and flatten them slightly.
- Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush the logs. Sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake the logs, rotating tray half way through for 25 minutes. Transfer the logs onto a cutting board and let cool for 20-30 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Cut the logs crosswise to half an inch thick slices. Place on a wire rack and bake for 30 minutes.
Hi Cenk – You know, the first time I made biscotti I thought I had done it all wrong. The dough was quite sticky and wet, so I started again and it came out the same. So, I progressed and fiddled with getting it into a log, and continued as normal. Biscotti is more work than it seems, and I think it is great that you have not only created your own recipe but that it is a resounding success at the cafe. I’m very happy for you, though I don’t think I will be making biscotti for a while…
Hi Shaun – I experienced the same problem on the first couple of trials but then I solved the problem by flouring my hands before shaping the first half and it worked. Give this recipe a try and you will see. Cheers.
Hi Cenk, your biscottis look lovely. I’ve been wanting to try baking some pistachio ones for sometime now but I have too many recipes waiting for their turn and too little time to spend on kitchen experiments… I wish a day was 48 hours instead of 24 🙂
These are fantastic – of course they would be a hit!
I’ve got 6 bottles of sweet white(Italian)wine and Amaretto for these biscotti-s.
Thanks for the idea Cenk!
Your biscotti are very yummi looking, and the hungarian porcelain is sooooo pretty!
Oh, another recipe that I came to copy and the comment I posted is not displayed. It also happened with the posts I was leaving at Bea’s blog. Love this recipe. Biscotti are such delicious creations. definitely perfect with a cup of lovely coffee.And these photos are as usual very beautiful.
My girlfriend is dying to get the cup in the picture. May I ask where did you get it? Btw, very nice site. FYI, we live in Istanbul.
Hi Celo – I bought it from Herend. The store is located in Nişantaşı. There is also another store in Caddebostan. Glad you liked it.
Herend Nişantaşı Ihlamur Yolu Kahvecioğlu Apt. No: 10/3. Telefon(212) 233 05 28
Herend Caddebostan Ömerpaşa Caddesi No:1/2 Caddebostan – İstanbul Tel: 216 363 52 25
Hi, Cenk,
greetings from Russia!
just cooked the biscotti today.
Thank you for the great recipe!
I’m really enjoying your blog and great pictures you publish on flickr.
It was really hard for me to find really good Turkish cuisine recipes and your blog helped me a lot.
I tried making hazelnut brittle and it was a disaster (I am NOT a candymaker, I’ve decided). I ground some of the failed brittle, baked the remainder some more, added both to this biscotti recipe and it is nothing short of wonderful! Thanks for saving the day!