Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sesame Biscotti


My father was in town this past weekend, which usually means he wants to show off some new thing he's been cooking or baking. On Saturday is was his recipe for Sesame Seed Biscotti. Well, not his recipe, per se, but a recipe he's pulled from Google and tried.

Disregard the yeast in the pictures - that was actually used for the pizza dough we made the following day.

Sesame Seed Biscotti
Adapted from a recipe from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients


4 cups 00 farina flour (The original recipe called for all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.


Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a mixer and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time with the mixer running and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat. Next, add the flour mixture and beat until well incorporated.

To form the cookies, divide the dough in half and roll into logs 1-inch in diameter. Cut the logs into 3-inch lengths. Dip each piece of dough into the cream and then roll in the sesame seeds. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and place in the oven until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.


Let cool and serve. These will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

As you can see from the recipe, we substituted 00 farina in place of the all-purpose flour. This may have been a poor choice, as the cookies came out really soft. It may be a matter of choice, but I think I'd go with all-purpose were I to make it again.

Also, be forewarned: it's impossible to eat one of thee cookies without sesame seeds falling everywhere.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These aren't biscotti. Biscotti are baked twice, which is where the name comes from.

Anonymous said...

It's true that generally people think of biscotti, which means literally "cooked twice" to be the typical oblong biscotti of various szies and content. Quaresimali are one of my favorites which I make using both hazel nuts and almonds. In some bakeries just almonds are used.

However, having said this, for Italians, the word biscotti also has a more generic meaning describing any cookie. Italians call the sesame seed cookies "biscotti Regina" or Queen cookie.
The comment has sparked my desire in making quaresimali and since I still have some 60% alond paste I might make some pignoli which surpass anything you will find on Arthur Avenue for $20 a pound.DAD

Anonymous said...

Hmmm..not really Biscotti...more like Biscotti inspired Sesame Seed Cookies. Traditional Biscotti does not contain cream or milk. I'm sure they are very nice but please do not call them Biscotti!