Nonnas Biscotti Recipes

NONNA'S BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Stir together sugar, butter, brandy, and extracts in a large bowl, then stir in almonds and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.
• Chill dough, covered, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Using moistened hands, halve dough and form 2 (16-by 2-inch) loaves on an ungreased large baking sheet.
• Bake until pale golden, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer loaves to a rack and cool 15 minutes.
• Cut loaves into 3/4-inch slices with a serrated knife.
• Arrange biscotti, with a cut side down, on a clean baking sheet and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

NONNA'S LEMON RICOTTA BISCUITS

Steps:

• Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NONNA'S BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
• Cream butter, sugar and flavoring. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Add the flour mixture and almonds.
• Turn out on a floured board and knead gently until smooth.
• Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a roll, 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
• Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
• Cut diagonally into slices 2/3 inch wide.
• Place back onto cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes for crisp cookies.

NANA'S ANISE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with foil. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine brandy, anise extract and vanilla extract in glass measuring cup. Add dry ingredients and brandy mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in almonds and aniseed.
• Drop dough by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, forming two 2-inch-wide, 13-inch-long strips on each sheet. Moisten fingertips and smooth dough into logs. Bake until golden and firm to touch, about 40 minutes. Transfer sheets to racks and cool completely.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Transfer cooled logs to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on baking sheets.
• Bake cookies until dry and slightly brown, turning every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.)

NONNA'S EASTER BREAD (PIZZA DI PASQUA)

Steps:

• Traditional Method:.
• Mix warm water, 1 tsp sugar, and yeast together and let sit for ten minutes or so (or until foamy) to proof the yeast.
• Sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, lemon rind, salt. Place in a large bowl and make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture.
• In a separate small bowl, beat 3 eggs and add in the canola oil, the yeast mixture, and the Grand Marnier (if you're using it) and mix it all together and dump it into the hole you created in the center of the dry mixture.
• Work with this as you would pizza dough. Slowly beat in flour with a fork and when it is stiff enough to knead, put flour on your hands so it doesn't stick and add in the rest of the flour. Once all the flour is incorporated, you may want to transfer the dough to a floured surface to continue kneading.
• Decide whether you want to shape the dough into on large loaf (in which case you will need to place it into a GREASED lasagna-sized pan to rise and bake) or whether you want to try placing it in 2 or 3 GREASED loaf pans. I personally only make one loaf, thus I don't know the baking times for the smaller loaves. If you make it in a large pan, you should shape the dough into a circle so that it grows into a nice shape since it will not quite "grow" into the pan.
• SEE INFORMATION ABOUT BAKING AND RISING UNDER THE BREAD MACHINE INSTRUCTIONS.
• Bread Machine Method:.
• Place ingredients in bread machine in the order recommended in your bread machine's manual (My order was: water, 3 beaten eggs, oil, liqueur (if using), 2 cups flour 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup sugar, lemon rind, 2 cups flour, yeast (in a whole formed in the flour), salt and sugar (1 tsp) along the edges of the pan.
• I put it on the dough cycle just until it finished kneading (about 35 minutes or so) as I wanted it to rise in the pan I would be baking it inches.
• Turn it onto a floured surface to shape it and place it in a greased pan (see note above under traditional method concerning options on pan size).
• Baking and Rising instructions for both methods:.
• Take the greased pan or pans and cover them with a clean dish cloth and put in a warm place to rise for 4 hours. I usually let the stove warm slightly while I am working with the dough, turn off the heat, and put it in there to rise but be careful not to let the oven get too hot. It only needs to be warm, not hot.
• After 4 hours, take dough out of oven and pre-heat oven to 300. At this point, beat an egg and brush it over the top of the loaf/loaves.
• If you have shaped the dough into one large bread, it will take between 45 minutes and 1 hour to bake. When it is done, the top will be somewhere between a golden colour and a dark brown. Mine took about 55 minutes this year.
• If you have gone with the smaller loaves, you will simply have to keep an eye on things since I am not sure how long they would take to bake. I would estimate about 30 minutes.