It still feels like summer some days, doesn’t it?  This Lemon Biscotti
recipe is perfect for those in-between-seasons days, when it’s cold in
the mornings and warm in the afternoons.  The warmth and nuttiness of
the browned butter gives you a taste of autumn, but the lemon reminds
you of the summer months.  Life seems so busy now that school has
started, and we deserve a break sometimes, so whip up some of these
sophisticated, twice-baked cookies and have your friends over for tea!

Recipe: Lemon Biscotti

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Makes about 24

 

Ingredients:

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornmeal

½ cup white sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup walnuts*

½ cup craisins (dried cranberries)**

 

*You can substitute these for another kind of nut, like pistachios, but I think walnuts work best.

**You can leave these out if you want, but I think they add a nice fruitiness to pair with the lemon!

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Brown the butter!  Place the butter in a saucepan on medium heat.  Stir the butter around with a wooden spoon while it melts.  Once melted, the butter will bubble and crackle, but don’t worry!  Keep stirring and the butter will start to foam.  When the little bits at the bottom begin to turn brown and smell nutty, remove the pan from the heat, transfer the butter to a separate bowl, and let cool completely.  The browning process takes about 5 minutes, and the cooling process takes about 15 minutes.  
3. While the browned butter cools, mix all the dry ingredients, including nuts, craisins, and lemon zest, in a bowl.    
4. In a different bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla extract.  Then, mix in the cooled browned butter (make sure you scrape out all the browned bits – that’s the best part!)
5. Add the browned butter, egg, and vanilla mixture into the dry ingredients and mix.  The mixture will seem a bit wet, but because biscotti is baked twice, it will dry out, without losing too much moisture.
6. Form the dough into a log (about 1 foot long) and place it on the baking sheet.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes.  When you take the biscotti out, let it cool for 20 minutes (this part is important because the cookie is still somewhat wet at this point and it needs to dry out before you bake them again).
8. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  Using a serrated knife, cut the biscotti log on the diagonal, about ⅓-inch apart (you can make them larger or smaller, but they may fall apart if you cut them too thin).  Place the cookies cut-side down and bake for 20-30 minutes.  The second bake dries out the cookies and give them a nice texture, but don’t worry, they will still be soft and chewy!  Turn over the biscotti halfway between this second bake to ensure both sides are baked.  Once they’re done, take them out and let them cool.
9. Serve with tea (or dunk them!) and enjoy!

Kavi Patel Staff Writer Image: Kavi Patel and Jessica Chang