Cocoa Hazelnut Biscottis

Two for two! Yes! I'm sitting here, drinking some delicious cider and just extremely happy that I'm getting my second recipe up here. It's quite an accomplishment for me to be blogging two nights in a row. I honestly don't remember the last time I did that, let's hope I can keep this up. I'm definitely way too excited to be sharing about this new recipe, but that's alright, because if you're reading this you either a. know who I am and are rolling your eyes at my love for baking or b. are actually interested in the recipe, in which case you can skip down a few lines. Either way, let'ssss start.

I've never made Biscottis before but it was definitely worth the task. I started from a recipe for cinnamon and hazelnut biscotttis. I loved the idea of hazelnuts, but one thing was missing... chocolate. I just love chocolate, much like the other half of the world, so I experimented with the batter a little bit. I substituted cocoa powder for some flour. Also, rather than a rough chop for the hazelnuts, i did more of a grind, so I also left out some flour. Last but not least, I drizzled them in milk chocolate. It's the easiest thing but it literally just makes it that much better. 

Cocoa Hazelnut Biscottis
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup toasted hazelnuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking liner. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside. 

Grind hazelnuts in a food processor (I used my magic bullet since I don't yet own a food processor, surprisingly . Combine sugar and butter and mix until fluffy. Add orange zest and vanilla and mix well. Add eggs 1 at a time, blending just until incorporated after each addition. Add flour mixture and mix until just blended. Fold in hazelnuts.  

Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with one tablespoon flour and one tablespoon powdered sugar. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9" x 2" log.

Place the logs on the baking sheet. Flatten each log to 12" x 2 1/2". Bake 25 minutes or until very light golden and firm to touch. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. 

Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 3/4-inch-wide slices. Place slices, cut side down, on your baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Turn biscotti over, bake about 15 minutes more or until light golden and firm. Transfer biscotti to racks and cool.

Biscottis have a natural crumbly texture to them, so it's okay if you leave them in the oven for an extra few minutes. Cool the cookies completely. Once cool, place about a half a cup of melting chocolates in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 30 second increments and stir in between each until chocolate is fully melted (about 1 1/2 minutes). Stir chocolate until it cools slightly. Transfer to either a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag and cut the end off. Drizzle chocolate along tops of cookies. The nice thing about this is that you can put on as much or as little as you like!!

Mmmmm yum!

Enjoy :)