Recipe: Cornmeal Biscotti

CORNMEAL BISCOTTI

3/4 cup hazelnuts or almonds (4 1/2 ounces)
4 tablespoons cold salted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large, cold egg
1 1/2 teaspoons anisette
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons fine cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons anise seeds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roast the nuts on another, smaller baking sheet until they are fragrant and beginning to color on the inside, about 15 minutes. If using hazelnuts, gather them in a towel, beanbag-style, rub to remove some of the papery skin, and then pick out the nuts. Finely chop 1/4 cup of the nuts; coarsely chop the remainder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, barely cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg and anisette. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the nuts, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and anise seeds. Add to the butter mixture and mix until homogeneous. Set aside.

Divide the dough in half. Roll the dough into logs about 1 inch in diameter. The dough should be cold enough to handle without difficulty, though you may need to dust the counter with a little additional flour if the logs start to stick.

Place the logs on the baking sheet, spacing them at least a few inches apart; they will swell considerably.

Bake until slightly brown and firm on the surface, but yielding to light pressure, about 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate the pan if they are browning unevenly. Don't underbake, or the baking powder will not complete its job, and the cookies will be hard and dense rather than crisp with a great coarse texture.

Transfer the cookie logs to a cutting board and slice on an angle about 1/2-inch thick. Place cut side down on the warm baking sheet.

Bake for another 5 minutes or so to brown lightly. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 36 (two-bite-sized) biscotti
Source: The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers