Cornmeal and Olive Oil Biscotti with Walnuts

Posted on June 10, 2011 / 12 comments » / Cookies, Sweet

(Pardon the picture quality folks.  This was the best I could do after I recovered from my “what the hell did my computer just do” meltdown.)

For quite some time, biscotti making proved to be the bane of my existence.

No matter how hard I tried, whenever I took the pan out of the oven after the first bake, I always ended up with an unappetizing blob of dough.  Or when the dough decided to be nice and not spread all over the place, it was really a trick.  Because the minute I started slicing it, it fell apart into a crumby mess.  Enough to drive a chica crazy!  I thought about throwing in the white flag but it became my mission to beat biscotti at this game it was playing with me.

I tried again after seeing the many biscotti recipes in Alice Medrich’s Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy,  aka, my new cookie bible.  I’m a huge cookie lover and married a cookie monster.  So this book has proved invaluable.  Not only does it have tons of great cookie recipes but all sort of useful tips, which helped me win my battle against the biscotti.

Two bits proved the most helpful for me.  First, when scraping the dough on to your baking pan, form it into a narrow log or rectangle.  It’s it too wide, you will end up with a blob of dough.  And thoroughly annoyed.  And after you slice the dough, instead of standing them up like little soldiers, lay them flat for extra crunch and toasty flavor.  My cookie monster thoroughly enjoyed the extra bite, which made them perfect for dunking into coffee.

For more tips, get the book people.  You won’t regret it. 

And no, Alice Medrich (or her peeps) didn’t pay me to say that.

Cornmeal and Olive Oil Biscotti with Walnuts

Adapted From: Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies
Yield: About 24 Biscotti

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (3.67 ounces) cornmeal
3/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup (4.625 ounces) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon
1 1/3 cups (4.5 ounces) walnut halves, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

Whisk the flour, cornmeal and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the olive oil, sugar, salt, eggs and lemon zest on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightened in color and slightly thickened.

Stir in the flour mixture. The batter will be thick and sticky. Stir in the walnuts. Scrape the batter down the center of the prepared pan and use wet hands spread it to form a log 14 to 15 inches long and 3 inches wide.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the log is golden on top and golden brown at the lower edges. Rotate the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. Set the pan on a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Leave the oven on, turning it down to 325°F.

Transfer the loaf carefully to a cutting board. If you used a liner, slide a metal spatula under the loaf to detach and remove the liner. Use a thin sharp knife to cut the loaf crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Transfer the slices to the unlined cookie sheet, standing them at least 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges and tops of the biscotti turn slightly golden. Rotate the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Set the pan on a rack. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for at least 2 weeks.

Print Recipe Print Recipe   
Share
12 Comments / Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

12 Responses to “Cornmeal and Olive Oil Biscotti with Walnuts”

  1. 1

    CookiePie — June 10, 2011 @ 11:09 am

    It can be a pain to make biscotti, but these sound great, worth every minute!!!

  2. 2

    Rosa — June 10, 2011 @ 11:45 am

    Those biscotti are awesome! What a lovely combination of healthy ingredients.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  3. 3

    Jackie — June 10, 2011 @ 2:28 pm

    anyting with olive oil gets my approval.. Delish!

  4. 4

    vanillasugarblog — June 10, 2011 @ 3:05 pm

    i bet the walnuts really stand out in this one.
    and yes, biscotti is a pain in the butt to make
    you did good chica!

  5. 5

    Paris Pastry — June 12, 2011 @ 5:30 am

    I’ve made biscotti several times but, thankfully, never have encountered any problems. But even with a fail-free history, this recipe is calling me to make it!

  6. 6

    Kerstin — June 12, 2011 @ 3:56 pm

    What a unique savory biscotti – I’m impressed :)

  7. 7

    William Casper — June 13, 2011 @ 12:41 am

    What an interesting combination, cornmeal and Olive Oil. I wish I had one for my coffee tomorrow.

  8. 8

    Brian @ A Thought For Food — June 13, 2011 @ 6:59 am

    I’ve yet to make my own biscotti, but now I think I’ll have to try my hand at them. Beautiful job!

  9. 9

    Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum — June 14, 2011 @ 9:59 am

    This looks yummy – even though I can’t totally SEE it, but from the recipe it looks delicious! :) I love when olive oil is used in traditionally sweet baking recipes (such as a biscotti). These are so unique!

  10. 10

    Mariko — June 15, 2011 @ 5:43 am

    Ah, I’ve looked at that book so many times on Amazon. I need to just get it. I’m afraid what I would do once I got that book… How do you stay so cute, girly? :)

    Olive oil is so lovely. I bet it tastes great in that cookie.

  11. 11

    megan @ whatmegansmaking — June 15, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

    I love biscotti, and this looks like such an interesting combination! That book sounds amazing… :)

  12. 12

    Hungry Sofia — June 16, 2011 @ 12:27 pm

    I kind of love that picture!

Leave a Comment