Biscotti with Fig, Apricot, White Chocolate & Chopped Hazelnuts
Who doesn’t love a biscuit that has a good crunch?
This biscotti is the perfect addition to a Christmas get together or just a reason to put your feet up for a few minutes R & R!
Have one while curled up in front of an open fire with a big mug of my home-made hot chocolate mix, because dunking is what a good biscotti is all about for me, and Christmas is when I eat them the most!
Once made, the recipe can be adapted to include, or miss out, the extra ingredients, so changing this recipe from a Christmas biscotti into an easter or new year treat, takes no effort at all.
For me, nothing tastes more like a Christmas biscotti than figs and apricots with a touch of white chocolate and a few toasted hazelnuts just to tip the indulgence over the top.
What makes a biscotti so special is that its twice baked, giving that perfect hard bite but making it perfect to dip into something hot and chocolaty.
Biscotti’s are surprisingly not that sweet, yet there’s sugar in the recipe.
Somehow the sweetness seems to be counteracted by the addition of the dried fruit.
Or maybe its just me and my sweet tooth that means I can eat more than one without having to go and immediately brush my teeth?!
Fabulous and full of delicious fruit , dipped in chocolate and nuts.
Try them yourself and remember, if the dried fruit I’ve used in this recipe isn’t for you, then use your favourite instead.
Beat the egg, butter, sugar and vanilla until they are light, pale and fluffy
Some of the alternatives I’ve used in the past are:
Dried apricots
Raisins
Dried apple
Goji berries
Walnuts
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Lemon Zest
Orange Zest
Dark Chocolate Chips
Almonds
Milk chocolate chips
The dough should be soft. Don’t over mix the dough.
These are a great make ahead biscuits too!
Follow the recipe up to the point of slicing, then let them cool completely before open freezing by laying them out on a tray to freeze. Once completely frozen, seal them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to three months.
Go on, give them a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Shape the dough into two rectangles the same size and before putting into the oven, liberally brush with beaten egg
What You Need
For the Biscuit
113g Butter – softened
225g castor sugar
3 large eggs
354g Plain Flour plus more for dusting
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla
¼ Tsp Salt – See Tip Box
5 Dried Figs – Chopped – See Tip Box
75g Dried Apricots – Chopped – See Tip Box
Chop all the dried fruit the same size
For the Decoration
200g White Chocolate
100g Toasted Hazelnuts – See Tip Box
Its easier to cut with a serrated knife
How It’s Done
Set the oven to 180c
Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment
Add the softened butter, castor sugar, vanilla and 2 of the eggs to a bowl of an electric mixer or hand-held mixer and beat on medium until it becomes very light in colour and fluffy - Occasionally scraping down the sides
Put the flour, baking powder and salt into another bowl, and mix until combined.
Chop all the fruit into small pieces around the same size – See Tip Box
Mix the chopped fruit into the flour and coat each piece really well
With the electric mixer on medium speed add the contents of the flour mixture and let the machine run until it comes together into a soft dough – See Tip Box
Dust the work-surface with some flour and pour out the dough onto the work-surface
Cut the dough into two equal parts
Lay the two pieces of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and shape them into long rectangular shapes approx. 10-11 inches long. – See Tip Box
Crack 1 egg into a bowl and use a fork to whisk it to loosen it up
Liberally brush the beaten egg all over the dough and place the tray into the oven for approx. 35 minutes or until the biscotti is a rich golden brown - See Tip Box
Once baked, remove the tray from the oven and let them cool until cool enough to be able to handle – approx. 10 minutes
Once cool enough, cut the biscotti into slices that are the same size as each other – See Tip Box
If freezing – do it at this stage – See Tip Box
Place the slices back onto the tray and put back into the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and turn each slice over
Return the tray back to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes – See Tip Box
Once time is up, remove the tray from the oven and transfer the biscotti to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely
Cut the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a microwavable bowl
Place into the microwave and heat for 30 seconds, then remove from the microwave and mix.
Return to the microwave for another 30 seconds, give it a mix and if needed, repeat until melted and smooth – Be careful not to overheat or burn the chocolate – be patient – See Tip Box
Chop the toasted hazelnuts into small pieces and place in a shallow bowl, including the very small nut crumbs – See Tip Box
Using a blunt knife to help, coat the bottom of the biscotti a third up the sides with the melted chocolate
Immediately coat the melted chocolate with the chopped nuts.
Place the biscotti back onto the cooling rack until the chocolate had cooled and set completely.
Eat or store in an air tight container.
Back into the oven for the second bake. 10 minutes then turn them over for another 10 minutes.
Tip Box
Dried Fruit – 1) The dried fruit should be cut to around the same size. Making the pieces all the same size means that they will all cook at the same time
2) Putting the dried fruit into the flour and making sure they are all covered in flour helps them to be dispersed evenly throughout the biscotti and stops them sinking to the bottom.
Salt – Only add salt if the butter you’re using is unsalted.
Baking times – All ovens vary so adjust the baking times accordingly
Shaping and cutting the dough – 1) Making each of the dough logs the same weight and size helps them bake at the same rate during the second bake
2) Best way to cut the slices is with a serrated knife
3) If the biscotti crumbles whilst cutting, it may mean that the dough is still too hot to cut. Leave to coo for a little longer
Toasted hazelnuts in every bite
Second bake – The biscotti needs a second bake in order to get that traditional crunch when bitten.
Melting chocolate – 1) If using a microwave to melt the chocolate, be very careful not to overheat. Be patience in between microwaving.
2) If not into microwaving the chocolate, use a bain-marie to melt - (bowl set over a pot of boiling water)
Nuts – Toasting nuts is a really easy thing to do. Place the nuts onto an oven tray and then place the tray into a hot oven until some of the nuts start to go golden brown.
Freeze - ) If freezing, freeze them after cutting them into slices and before baking them for the second time.
2) Freeze the biscotti by open freezing them and then once completely frozen, store them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to three months
3) When ready to eat, follow the second bake stages from frozen.
To dunk or not to dunk?
