Almond Biscotti

My first introduction to almond biscotti was via a HK drama. Hah! Bet you didn't see that coming - it was a little out of norm as biscotti is more of an Italian thingy. Anyway, when I first move to Australia, one of the first few HK drama I watched was this Forensic Heroes II. One of the male character made some almond biscotti for another female character to go with coffee while watching sunset. I tried to make this a few years back when I was still staying in Sydney and it was unsuccessful.

Before CNY, my sis made a batch of it and pronounced them successful! My interested was piqued and of course, promptly made some too. Sis recommended recipe from food4tots, please refer to food4tots for a better, detailed recipe. 

Ingredients:

120 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)

30 g almond flour (ground almond)

½ tsp baking powder

1 egg (about 65g) – at room temperature

75 g castor sugar --> I used about 35 g

Pinch of salt

95 g almonds (raw)

Method:

1. Rinse almonds lightly, pat dry with kitchen towel. (it’s optional) --> I skipped this step
2. Place almonds on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 8 minutes. Give it a stir or shake after 4 minutes. (I may have forgot to.) Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, sieve plain flour, almond flour and baking powder. Then use a hand whisk to combine.
4. In another bowl (a bigger one), beat the egg lightly with a hand whisk or electrical mixer. Add sugar and salt. Beat until the mixture is fluffy and pale. 
5. Add in flour mixture (from step 3). Use a rubber spatula or plastic scraper to mix all the ingredients until well combined. You can use technique such as cut, press and scrape to mix. (I have no idea what this technique is…)
6. Add in the roasted almonds. Mix until well combined and form a dough. At this stage, the dough is quite sticky. So, dust your hands and counter top with more flours before proceeding to the next step.
7. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal portions, roll into log shapes (22 cm length x 5 cm width x 1.5 cm thickness) and then flatten slightly. 
8. Place the logs on a baking tray lined with grease-proof baking paper. Transfer the tray to oven, bake at 160 C for 30 minutes or until well risen and firm. If your logs show uneven colour, rotate them at 180 degree towards the last 5 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 15-20 minutes. 
10. When the logs are cooled, use serrated knife to cut it diagonally into thin slices (0.3 cm thickness or thicker if crumble). 
11. Arrange slices on the lined baking tray, transfer to oven, place at the lowest rack and bake for a further 150 C for 14 minutes (7 minutes for each side) or until slightly golden brown.
12. Cool on rack and keep in an air-tight container for several weeks.