I’m kind of addicted to biscotti at the moment – I’m thinking of unique flavors that I can incorporate into my favorite biscotti recipe. This one is a delicious blend of chocolate and peanut butter. These flavors are both blended into the dough, AND used as a glazed for the top of the cookies. They came out beautifully!
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BISCOTTI (makes about 4 – 5 dozen)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients for peanut butter dough:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped peanut butter chips (just like chocolate chips)
Combine butter, peanut butter and sugar, and blend together with a mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Blend.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, and blend using a hand whisk. Add to wet ingredients slowly, blending between each addition.
Fold in peanut butter chips.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap, while you make the chocolate dough.
Ingredients for chocolate dough:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c mini semisweet chocolate chips
Combine butter, and sugar, and blend together with a mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Blend.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, and blend using a hand whisk. Add to wet ingredients slowly, blending between each addition.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap.
The 2 flavors of dough will make 4 biscotti loaves. Prepare 4 sheet pans with parchment paper – or use 2 pans to make 2 loaves first, then reuse the pans for 2 more loaves.
Cut each flavor of dough into quarters. Use 1/4 of chocolate, and 1/4 of peanut butter dough for each loaf. On a lightly floured surface, break each 1/4 into smaller pieces, and press together.
Blend the flavors as much as you like, then place the loaf onto the parchment covered sheet pan. Press into about a 13″ long loaf, 2″ – 3″ wide, and 3/4″ thick, using your hands. Brush with a little egg white and water mixed together.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Loaves will be very lightly browned, puffy, and slightly cracked on the top.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Using a serrated knife, cut into 1″ slices, and lay them cut side down on the cookie sheet. Reduce oven temp to 250 degrees, and bake for 20 min on 1 side. Turn the cookies over, and bake another 20 min.
Cool completely. Turn the cookies back to the top side up on the parchment paper.
Prepare the toppings:
For the chocolate peanut butter design on top, I used about 2 c dark chocolate almond bark. This was melted in the microwave til smooth.
For the white, I melted about 1 c of white chocolate almond bark, and 1 Tbsp of smooth peanut butter. Stir to combine.
Complete the design on 1 cookie, before moving to the next. Dip the top only of each biscotti into the melted dark chocolate, and shake off the excess. Place the biscotti back on the parchment paper. Using a small spoon, dab a tiny bit of the white chocolate mixture in 5 dots on the top of each cookie. Don’t worry about perfection here – each one will be unique! Using a toothpick, drag the design from 1 end of the cookie to the other. This will create the “heart-shaped” design across the cookie.
Allow these to dry completely. These cookies freeze beautifully, for 2-3 months. You can also store them in a tin, or plastic baggies in the frig for about 2 weeks.
