TOZZETTI DI MANDORLE AKA ITALIAN BISCOTTI WITH ALMONDS

Captured by The Recipe Hunters in Italy

Tozzetti di Mandorle - Italian Almond Biscotti Recipe

Crunchy almond cookies with a lemony twist, perfect to dip in your coffee or tea. We inherited this recipe from the lovely Mamma Angela, who invited us into her kitchen and family restaurant, L'Antica Rupe and taught us her favorite Umbrian recipes.

Ingredients

Tozzetti di Mandorle

4.5 Cups “00” Flour
5 Eggs
500 g & 1 Tbsp Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Lemon's Zest
4 Tbsp (60 g) Butter
400 g Almonds

Recipe

Tozzetti di Mandorle

Makes about 30 cookies

Preheat the oven to 230° C (450°F)
Pour the 600 g of "00" flour in a mound on a flat surface and create a deep well in the middle of the mound
Crack 4 eggs, and 1 egg yolk into the well *Save the egg white for later
In a small frying pan, melt the butter
Add the 500 g of sugar, 3/4 tsp. of baking soda, 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, the melted butter, and the zest from a whole lemon to the eggs and beat with a fork *Do not yet incorporate the flour.
Toast the almonds and mix them and add them to the well.
Incorporate the flour little by little until the dough does not stick to your hands. It might not be necessary to add all of the flour, so if you acheive what you feel is the right consistency and you have flour left over, do not fret!
Knead the dough by folding it on top of itself and pressing down with your palms.
Once the dough is fully formed (uniform color and consistency throughout) break it into 4 pieces and roll each piece into long, flat loaves about 3 inches wide.
Line the baking tray with a baking sheet and place the cookie loaves onto the baking sheet.
Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of egg white onto each roll.
Sprinkle sugar on top of each roll.
Place in the oven until they are golden brown (~15 min). If your oven cooks unevenly, the loaves may start to brown at one end first. If this happens, rotate the baking tray in your oven.
After 15 minutes or when the loaves are golden brown, remove from the oven and cut diagonally into crosswise sections.
Place the cookies on their sides upon the baking tray and bake for another 10-15 minutes until they are hard and crisp.