Greendale Chocolate Biscotti Recipe
Crunchy, chocolatey and incredibly moreish, these Italian-style biscuits make a great gift – they also keep well, so can be baked ahead if needed. Makes 20 biscotti.
Preheat the oven to 180⁰C (160⁰C fan oven; Gas Mark 4) and line two baking trays with baking paper. Break the 50g dark chocolate into chunks and put them in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water), stirring occasionally until melted. When melted, take the bowl off the pan and set aside to cool until the chocolate is just warm.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl and mix to combine, then crack the eggs into a separate bowl and beat lightly. Slowly add the eggs to the dry ingredients, stirring, then add the melted chocolate and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract and the chocolate chips and use your hands to bring everything together, kneading the mixture gently into a soft dough.
Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a flattened ‘log’ shape, about 2-3cm high. Place the logs on the baking trays and bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. When cooled, use a sharp knife (a serrated blade works best) to cut each log into 1.5cm slices, and arrange the slices on the lined trays. Reduce the oven temperature to 150⁰C (130⁰C fan oven; Gas Mark 2) then bake the biscotti for another 15 minutes; after this, turn them over and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until they are completely hard to touch, then remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
