Avs Biscoitos Portuguese Biscotti Cookies Recipes

AVô'S BISCOITOS (PORTUGUESE BISCOTTI/COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream together butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture.
• Do not undercream or overcream. (Undercreamed butter/sugar looks yellow and dense. Overcreamed butter/sugar looks white and greasy.).
• Add eggs, mixing until blended.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
• Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, stirring until combined.
• If dough seems dry or flakey, knead slightly.
• Scoop up ping-pong ball sized dollops of dough.
• Roll between your hands to form a 5-inch long "snake", even throughout the length.
• (if dough is too sticky to handle at this point, you will need to add a small amount of flour to the dough to make it workable).
• Brings ends of the "snake" together, slightly folding one end over the other, to form a donut-shape with a small hole in the middle.
• Place cookies 1-2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Let rest on baking sheet 2 minutes before transferring to rack to cool.
• Enjoy!

BISCOCHITOS TRADITIONAL COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

PORTUGUESE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 cup of the sugar and butter until well blended.
• Add lemon peel and juice; mix to blend.
• Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth.
• Gradually stir in 3 cups of the flour, mixing well. cover and chill until dough is firm enough to handle easily, at least 3 hours or as long as 2 days.
• For easier handling, chill the dough before you form the ring-shaped cookies.
• Divide dough in half. Cover and chill 1 portion.
• Divide other half into 8 equal pieces. With floured fingers, roll each piece on a lightly floured board to make a 10-inch rope.
• Overlap ends of each rope slightly to form a ring.
• Place rings about 1 inch apart on a greased 14x17 inch baking sheet. Sprinkle light with sugar. Bake in a 300°F oven until golden, 35-40 minutes.
• Remove cookies from pans and let cool completely on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Serve or store airtight up to 10 days.