Maple Praline Biscotti
Submitted by amyboles
Maple praline biscotti loaded with toasted pecans, flavored with maple extract, and dipped in a maple powdered sugar glaze. Twice-baked for a crispy snap.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minThese biscotti swap the traditional Italian almond-anise profile for something distinctly American: maple extract, brown sugar, and toasted pecans. The dough gets shaped into logs, baked until cracked on top, cooled, sliced on the diagonal, and baked again until each slice is dry and crispy all the way through. Then the top edge gets dipped in a maple-spiked powdered sugar glaze that hardens into a sweet, glossy shell.
Toasting the pecans before folding them into the dough is a must. Raw pecans taste flat and slightly bitter in baked goods, but toasted pecans release their oils and develop a deep, caramelized nuttiness that amplifies the maple flavor.
Using both white and brown sugar in the dough creates a more complex sweetness than either alone. The brown sugar adds molasses depth that pairs naturally with maple.
Kitchen Tips
- Let the logs cool for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. Too warm and they crumble. Too cold and they crack.
- Use a serrated knife for clean diagonal cuts. A straight blade crushes the delicate log.
- Flip the slices once during the second bake for even browning and crispness on both sides.
- The glaze should be thick enough to coat but thin enough to drip slightly. Add milk a teaspoon at a time.
Variations
- Add white chocolate chips to the dough for a sweeter, creamier biscotti.
- Swap pecans for walnuts or hazelnuts for a different nut flavor.
- Drizzle with melted dark chocolate after glazing for a chocolate-maple combination.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃); lightly grease a cookie sheet.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar.
Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until well mixed.
Adding the eggs one at a time and the maple extract, continue beating for about 1 minute until smooth.
By hand, stir in the pecans.
Gently stir in the flour mixture just until the dough is blended.
Divide the dough in half.
On a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch each portion into a 12 x 1½-inch smooth log.
Place each log on the cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the logs begin to crack.
Cool the logs for 15 to 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
With a seratted knife, cut each log diagonally into ⅜ to 1½- inch slices.
Lay the slices, cut side down, on the cookie sheet.
Bake, turning once, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden brown on both sides.
Place on cooling racks; cool completely.
Glaze: In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, maple extract and enough milk to reach glazing consistency.
Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth.
Dip the top edge of the cooled biscotti in the glaze.
Place the dipped biscotti on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets.
Refrigerate for about 1 hour until the glaze is hardened.
Store in an airtight container.
Note: To toast pecans, spread evenly in a shallow baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees, stirring once, for 4 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Cool completely.
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