Start with a single dough, divide, and spice each part differently - that's the trick to achieving a variety of flavors with a single bake-off. Pro trick: Have the ingredients measured and ready before you begin.
Yield: About 30, one-ounce cookies
Time to make: 20 minutes active. 1 1/2 hour oven time.
Tools needed: Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment. 2 medium bowls. Sheet pan or cookie pan. Bakers parchment. Serrated knife. Wooden or plastic cutting board. Measuring cups and spoons and/or kitchen scale. Metal or heat-proof tongs.
Ingredients
Corona flour blend
Procedure:
Place all ingredients in a large zip-lock bag and seal tightly. Shake, twist, roll and wiggle to blend. Let dust settle before opening bag.
Ingredients for chocolate-chip variation
Ingredients for almond variation
Procedure:
1) Heat oven to 325 F. Prepare a sheet pan with a piece of bakers parchment or grease and dust a cookie sheet. Position an oven rack in the center slot.
2) Measure the Corona flour, the xanthan gum, the baking powder and the salt into a medium bowl. Whisk or power mix until ingredients are thoroughly blended.
3) Place butter in a separate medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, cream on middle speed until pale and fluffy. Add sugar and cream a second time until pale, feathery and light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix to incorporate. Add the flour and beat on low speed until completely mixed.
4) Divide the dough. If you have a kitchen scale, turn dough out onto it, weigh and divide in half. If no scale is available, turn dough out onto work surface and approximate the halves. Accuracy is not critical. Place half the dough back in the mixing bowl and the second half into the medium bowl previously used to blend dry ingredients. Add the almond variation ingredients to one batch of dough and the chocolate chip variation ingredients to the other. Mix each separately until well blended.
5) Turn each batch of dough out separately onto the parchment covered baking pan. Dust lightly with flour, dust your hands, and shape each dough batch into rectangles that are approximately 2 inches wide X 8 inches long. Brush away excess dusting flour.
6) Bake the cookies 40 - 50 minutes, or until they are lightly freckled with brown. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 8 - 12 minutes, or until you can safely remove each rectangle from the baking sheet. Place cookies on a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, slice into diagonal pieces each about 1 inch thick. Remove parchment from sheet pan. Place the cookie slices, cut side down, on the sheet pan. Return to oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until upside is lightly brown. Use tongs to turn each piece over and bake another 10 - 20 minutes or until biscotti look slightly toasted. Remove to a cooling rack and cool thoroughly.
For more flavor suggestions, Chef Google has the answer.
If desired, the dough can be divided into smaller portions to create more flavor variations within one batch. Remember to divide flavor ingredients from the original recipe.
Biscotti keep very well and may be enjoyed for several successive breakfasts, lunches, dinners or evening binge-watches.