Pine Nut Biscotti

Crunchy and lightly sweet, these are great with espresso or French roast coffee after dinner. Though any nuts will work, pine nuts offer sophisticated taste.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen (serving size: 1 biscotto)

Ingredients

• 3  cups  all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  cup  pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4  cup  plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3  large eggs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in pine nuts. Combine 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, rind, vanilla, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well blended (dough will be dry and crumbly). Knead dough lightly in bowl 7 or 8 times or until a dough forms (dough will be sticky). Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.

Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet (do not turn oven off); cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch-thick) slices using a serrated knife. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes. Turn cookies over, and 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 racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

94 (21% from fat)

Fat:

2.2g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:

2.2g

Carbohydrate:

16.6g

Fiber:

0.4g

Cholesterol:

21mg

Iron:

0.8mg

Sodium:

84mg

Calcium:

14mg