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biscotto

 
Dictionary: bi·scot·to   (bĭ-skŏt'ō) pronunciation
 
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n., pl. -scot·ti (-skŏt'ē).

A crisp Italian cookie traditionally flavored with anise and often containing almonds or filberts.

[Italian, from Medieval Latin bis coctus, twice cooked. See biscuit.]


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Recipe: Biscotti
 
Home > Library > Food & Cooking > Recipes

Recipe origin: Italy

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 1½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract

Procedure

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat eggs. Add sugar and beat until thick and golden.
  3. Add melted butter and oil and beat well.
  4. Add vanilla or almond extract and blend well.
  5. Add flour and baking powder, and beat until a thick dough forms.
  6. Turn dough into ungreased 9-inch by 13-inch pan.
  7. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
  8. Remove from oven and slice into three strips, 3 inches by 13 inches each.
  9. Cut each strip into slices about 1 inch wide.
  10. Place slices on a cookie sheet. Toast slices under the broiler. Turn, and toast other side.

Biscotti should be crunchy. Serve with coffee. Makes about 24 biscotti.

 
Food Lover's Companion: biscotto
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Home > Library > Food & Cooking > Food Lover's Companion

pl. biscotti [bee-SKAWT-toh; bee-SKAWT-tee] A twice-baked Italian biscuit (cookie) that's made by first baking it in a loaf, then slicing the loaf and baking the slices. The result is an intensely crunchy cookie that is perfect for dipping into dessert wine or coffee. Biscotti can be variously flavored; the most popular additions are anise seed, hazelnuts or almonds.

 
Wikipedia: Biscotti
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
A plate of biscotti
Tuscan-style cantucci served with vin santo.
Biscotti with chocolate.

Biscotti is Italian for "biscuits" or "cookies". In North America, the word has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits.

Contents

Origin and Italian usage

The word "biscotti" (pronounced /bɪˈskɒti/, Italian pronunciation: [bisˈkɔtti]) in Italian is the plural form of biscotto, which applies to any type of biscuit (cookie), and originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-cooked/baked": it defined biscuits baked twice in the oven, so they could be stored for long periods of time, which was particularly useful during journeys and wars. Pliny boasted that they would be edible for centuries. Biscotti were a staple of the diet of the Roman Legions.[1] Through Middle French, the word was imported into the English language as "biscuit". Biscotto is derived from the word "bis" which in Italian means twice and "cotto" meaning cooked.

North American usage: cantucci

In North America, the Italian term "biscotti" has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits, derived from Tuscan cantucci (singular cantuccio), a type of hard almond-flavoured biscuits traditionally served with vin santo, probably originating from the town of Prato and therefore still known as "biscotti di Prato".

American biscotti are indeed crisp cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry them out. Biscotti have a very low moisture content. A basic recipe is a mix two parts flour with one part sugar with enough eggs to create a stiff batter.[2] To the mixture baking powder and flavorings such as anise, chocolate, or nuts are added. The slabs are baked once for about twenty-five minutes. They are then cut up into individual cookies and baked again for a shorter period. The longer this second baking is, the harder the cookies will be. In contrast to the Italian version paired with wine, American biscotti more frequently accompany Italian-style coffee- and espresso-based beverages, including cappuccinos and lattes.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Origin Of Biscotti. The Nibble, May 2006.
  2. ^ The Perfect BiscottiPublished by mercina on September 29, 2008 - Thursday for Dinner

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Recipe. Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Foods and Recipes of the World. Copyright © 2002 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Biscotti".  Read more