Almond Cream Cheese Biscotti
Submitted by ct
Almond cream cheese biscotti with toasted sliced almonds and a hint of anise. Cream cheese gives these twice-baked Italian cookies a softer, more tender bite while keeping the signature crunch for dunking in coffee.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minTraditional Italian biscotti are bone-dry on purpose, designed for dunking in vin santo or coffee until they soften enough to bite. This is the American compromise: a biscotti with cream cheese folded into the dough, which keeps things tender enough to eat straight up while still standing up to a hot espresso.
Anise and almond is the classic Italian flavor pair, both subtle and deeply linked to bakery traditions across Sicily and southern Italy. The licorice note from anise extract is gentle here, just enough to give the cookies their old-country pedigree without overwhelming the toasted nuts.
The twice-bake is what gives biscotti their structure. The first bake sets the loaf; the second crisps the cut surfaces. Don’t shortcut the second bake even if the cookies look dry. They’ll firm up further as they cool on the rack.
Pro Tips
- Toast the sliced almonds in a dry skillet for 4-5 minutes before adding. The aroma will tell you when they’re ready; once you smell them, pull them off the heat.
- Cool the logs only 10 minutes before slicing. Fully cooled logs crumble; warm-but-not-hot logs cut cleanly with a serrated knife.
- Slice on a steep diagonal for that classic long elegant biscotti look. Straight cuts produce stubby cookies.
- Stand the slices on their cut edge for the second bake instead of laying flat. Air circulates around the whole cookie and they crisp evenly.
Variations
- Swap anise extract for almond extract and skip the licorice note entirely.
- Stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips along with the almonds for chocolate-almond biscotti.
- Drizzle cooled cookies with melted white chocolate and a dusting of orange zest for a bakery-window finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Beat cream cheese, margarine, sugar, vanilla and anise extract in large mixing bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended.
Gradually add combined dry ingredients, mix well; stir in almonds.
On well-floured surface with floured hands, shape dough into three 12 x 1½ inch logs.
Place logs, 2 inches apart, on greases and floured cookie sheet .
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
(Dough will spread and flatten slightly during baking).
Cool slightly.
Diagonally cut each log into ¾ inch slices.
Place on cookie sheet.
Continue baking 5 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.
Comments
Well the second line if the directions fail to mention the EGGS, quite possibly the most important ingredient. Is this a sign that these biscotti won't turn out????
Very moist dough. I chilled it in the fridge before baking and it was still very soft. The first bake took 30 min. I sliced it and baked it at 300 (how I normally do biscotti) for 20 minutes and it was still soft. I finally cranked the heat to 400 and baked them another 10 minutes. They are crunchy but the flavor is dull. I used almond extract and should have doubled it.