A totally dunkable chocolate and hazelnut biscotti

If you’re anything like me, then a cup of tea or coffee isn’t complete without some form of crunchy companion on the side. Marie Biscuits? Ginger Snaps? You name it, I’ll dunk it! Just like the Cookie Monster, no biscuit is safe when my mug and I are around – especially not these ones. Biting into their tea–soaked center and letting the chocolate and hazelnutty goodness wash over me provides a momentary, welcomed escape from life’s craziness. Here’s the recipe for the perfect hazelnut biscotti companion to your cuppa.

biscotti-dunked-in-affogato

Ingredients:

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Makes: ± 40 biscotti

500 ml cake flour
125 ml cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp fine salt
100g butter, softened
200g castor sugar
2 large eggs
200g dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
100g blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp icing sugar
Flake salt for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a large bowl, sift the cake flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt together.
3. Using an electric mixer’s whisk attachment, beat the butter and castor sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. While beating add in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Replace the whisk attachment with a dough hook and mix in the flour mixture to form a stiff dough.
6. Add the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and mix until everything is evenly combined.
7. With floured hands, form the dough into two slightly flattened logs, about 30cm long and 5cm wide.
8. Place the logs onto a lined baking tray and sprinkle with icing sugar and salt.
9. Bake for 35 minutes or until slightly firm to touch. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 8 minutes.
10. On a cutting board, slice the biscotti into 1 cm thick pieces with a sharp non-serrated knife.
11. Arrange the pieces on a lined baking tray and bake at 140°C for ± 30 minutes (or until dry and crispy). Switch off your oven and leave the biscotti to dry out more if needed.

dusting-biscotti
12. Cool on a wire rack, then store in an airtight jar.

A totally dunkable chocolate and hazelnut biscotti

This biscotti isn’t bound to hot drinks alone. Mix a shot of espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make a classic Affogato that’s great for dunking. Or do what I sometimes do and crumble them over ice cream for dessert.

A totally dunkable chocolate and hazelnut biscotti

The possibilities are endless, even if the cookie jar isn’t.