Chocolate and Almond Biscotti (Donna Hay)

I have noticed that the weather at Melbourne has been cooling down lately. Although today is going to be a warm autumn day, tonight will not be as warm as more than 20°C.

Due to the weather change, I have been drinking tea lately...
I'm never a tea or coffee drink but lately during moments of stress, I like to stop doing everything, keep calm, sit back, relax and have a cup of tea... My favorite are usually the fruity and caffeine free ones like these from Twinings.
I like a quiet afternoon, a cup of tea with a slice or two guilt-free cakes or biscuits... something like biscotti.

Wait up now, Zoe! Let's stop dreaming and bake something. Besides a cup of tea, baking can be very therapeutic for me too.
Being a health freak, anything with no butter and oil added or less sugar sounds to me. Yes that I know that these twice-baked Donna Hay's chocolate biscotti contains about 3/4 cup of sugar but the sweetness in these rich cocoa and almond treats is well-hidden and pretty subtle. In fact, you probably need a lot senses to detect any fat and the hint of sweetness of these treats.
Otherwise, the best way to enjoy these... A quiet afternoon, a cup of tea with a couple of chocolate biscotti... Anybody?

Cuppa... Anybody?

Making these biscotti is super-easy. Just mix ...

... and bake!

Slice...

... and bake again! Enjoy!

Here's the recipe from the book, Simple Essential: Chocolate by Donna Hay

(with my modification and notes in blue)

Make 40

270g plain flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
30g cocoa powder, sifted
(I used Valrhona Dutch processed ones)
165g caster sugar
3/4 cup blanched almonds
3 eggs
(I used large 80g eggs)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160°C (or 150°C fan forced) . Place the flour, baking powder, cocoa, sugar and almonds in a bowl and mix together. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to form a dough. Note: Depending on the size of the eggs used, dough can be sticky but I didn't add any flour to fine-tune the consistency of my dough

Divide the dough in two. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead each piece until smooth. Shape into logs and flatten slightly. Place the logs on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 35 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. 
Cut logs into slices 5mm thick and place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 25 mins or until biscotti are crisp. Note: Like I mentioned in my previous biscotti baking, I like my biscotti to be rather less teeth-crunching and bake mine for 10 to12 mins.
Note: Using 1 1/2 of the recipe, I have used 280g of blanched almond to bake 3 biscotti logs at 150°C fan forced for 35 mins, sliced the logs into 50 biscotti and baked them again 150°C fan forced for 10 to 12 mins.
Happy Baking

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This post is linked to Cook like a Star, ALL Stars Anniversary organised by me, Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Mich from Piece of Cake. 
Wanna cook or bake like Donna Hay, Barefoot Contessa, Jamie Oliver, Masterchef, Martha Stewart, Delia Smith, Curtis Stone, Nigella Lawson, Ree Drummond and Bill Granger? To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from their websites or cookbooks and link with us at this Zoe's, this Joyce's or this Mich's post for the whole of March and April 2014.
To use this linky tool, please make sure that: (1) Your post must be a current post. (2) Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to us at Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Mich from Piece of Cake. Cheers!
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