Flavor of the Month - Chocolate Almond Biscotti with Nutella Glaze

I'm so happy to be able to participate in Bake at 350’s Flavor of the Month for December. The theme for this month is one of my favorite food groups: cookies. I decided to make something that’s not too sweet, given that I’ve gorged myself on Christmas cookies for the last few weeks.

I just love a good biscotti, and these are delicious. Not too hard and crunchy like you’d get at the grocery store, but still a little chewy and moist. Be sure to stop over at Bake at 350 and check out Bridget’s recipe for delicious and beautiful gingerbread cookies and all the other blogs’ yummy cookie recipes.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti with Nutella Glaze

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, softened

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

all-purpose flour

Nutella Glaze

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put almonds on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Let cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, margarine, baking powder, almond and vanilla extracts, baking soda, salt, eggs and 1 cup of flour.

3. With a large wooden spoon, stir in almonds and ¼ cup flour.

4. Grease a cookie sheet. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface with floured hands, shape each half of dough into an 8 in. x 2 ½ in. loaf. Place both loaves, about 3 inches apart, on cookie sheet. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

5. Remove cookie sheet from oven; allow loaves to cool 10 minutes for easier slicing. With serrated knife, cut loaves crosswise into ½-inch thick slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same cookie sheet, making sure they do not touch. Return to oven and bake cookies 5 minutes longer. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool.

Now, you can leave the biscotti as it is, or add the Nutella Glaze. So much for less sugar.

Nutella Glaze

In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup Nutella, ¼ cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons boiling water until smooth. Lay biscotti on a parchment- or foil-lined cookie sheet and drizzle glaze over cookies with fork or dip 1 end of each cookie in glaze. Dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Yeah, right. They wouldn’t (and didn't!) last half that long in my house.  And if you really want the full Nutella-biscotti flavor sensation, open a jar of Nutella and full on dunk those biscotti.  Enjoy my friends.