anise Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Chocolate Dipped Polenta Biscotti with Amaretto and Anise

The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to start making some cookies! Each year I love to bake a few different kinds of biscotti, this year these polenta biscotti will make an appearance.

Biscotti are so nice to have around when people stop by to visit, they store very well when baked early on during the holidays and hardly ever lose their crunch factor.

Speaking of crunch factor, these particular biscotti have the addition of fine granules of polenta incorporated into the dough which results in a rustic and crunchy texture.

Almost eleven years ago on this blog I did a post on polenta biscotti but since then I have upgraded both my photos and added a little twist to the original along with more detail for you, so this is my revised version.

As well as the polenta, anise seeds are crucial to this recipe along with a light touch of amaretto liquor which can easily be replaced with almond extract if need be. You can adorn them with dark chocolate or not, but for the holidays and any special occasion or for gifting the dip of chocolate on one end makes for a prettier presentation, and it sure tastes good!

When the logs are finished baking it’s important to let them cool down completely before you slice them for the second baking.

I like slicing them on the diagonal and always use a serrated knife to make clean cuts. Often times I use an old fashioned electric knife that I have and it works wonders for slicing biscotti.

After you’ve baked the individual slices again make sure they are completely cooled before you start to dunk them into the pool of melted chocolate. After dipping just the one end and while the chocolate is still warm, immediately scatter some sliced almonds over the top so they can stick as the chocolate starts to cool.

Leave them on parchment then stick them into the fridge for maybe fifteen minutes so the chocolate can set.

I like to store mine in pretty boxes or tins, preferably rectangle shaped so that they fit nicely, with layers of wax paper in between, just keep them in a cool place and they’ll be fine.

Whether you gift this to someone you love or keep the stash for yourself these polenta biscotti are so worth making!

Get the coffee going, grab a biscotti and enjoy the season!

Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Dipped Polenta Biscotti with Amaretto and Anise

Author: Marie

Ingredients

4 cups un-bleached all purpose flour
¾ cup of instant polenta granules
1½ cups sugar
1½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons of anise seeds
3 large eggs
½ cup of sliced almonds plus extra for garnishing chocolate
10 tablespoons of melted butter
2 or 3 teaspoons of amaretto liquor or ½ teaspoon of almond extract
dark chocolate chips for melting
¼ teaspoon of vegetable shortening to smooth out the chocolate when melting

Instructions

Melt butter, set aside. Heat oven to 350F
In a large bowl add the flour, polenta, baking powder, anise seed and almonds. Whisk by hand to incorporate.
In a smaller bowl with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the melted butter and get it throughly mixed, then add in one egg at a time still mixing until light and fluffy, then add the amaretto and combine.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet mixing with hand beater to get it all incorporated so you're able to form your logs.
If you see some dry crumbles add a tiny bit of milk and gather up the dough.
Once dough is nice and smooth form it into two logs, 9x4 around ¾ inch thick.
Place both logs onto a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet, make sure to flatten down the tops of the logs gently.
Bake logs at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes depending on your oven, then let them cool completely before slicing.
When it's time to slice them, cut on the diagonal being careful with a serrated or electric knife.
Place the slices down on one side and bake them for 5 minutes.
Take them out after 5 minutes, flip them over on the other side, put them back in the oven and bake for another five minutes.
Take them out to check for desired golden color, I did mine for one more additional 5 minutes, ovens vary and so does every ones crunch factor.
Let them cool completely before dunking into chocolate.
MELTING CHOCOLATE
Place some of the chocolate into a microwave proof cup, along with the bit of shortening and check in 20 second increments until its melted, check and stir. You may need to melt more, but a little goes along way.
Take one end of your biscotti and dunk it into the chocolate and immediately onto parchment paper, then scatter your nuts on top.
When finished dunking all your biscotti place them into the fridge for 15 minutes so the chocolate can set.
Enjoy!
This can be stored in tin cans or boxes in between layers of wax paper for a few weeks, if they last that long.

Tis The Season To Be Baking!

By now you’re probably deep into baking all your favorite holiday treats, pulling out recipes you haven’t made in a year or so. I started my baking last week, placed them in pretty tins ready to give away and share with family and friends. Here is a few of the things I baked so far.

Traditional ANISE BISCOTTI, it’s a huge favorite of my husband and brother-in-law, they love that sweet licorice taste of the anise. These biscotti are perfect for dunking in your coffee or espresso and great to have on hand when someone stops by.

To get that true anise flavor I always use anise oil instead of the extract, usually found in an Italian market or on line, and along with that I also mix in some anise seed, the oil is really strong so you don’t need very much but the flavor and smell lingers forever (or as long as your biscotti last,) in fact there’s still a lingering aroma of anise inside my house and I finished baking them a week ago!

The dough comes together very quickly it’s the baking that will take you the longest since you have to twice bake them. After first baking your logs you want to make sure they cool down before you cut into them for that second baking otherwise you’ll have a pile of crumbs. I use a heavy serrated knife to cut through mine, but I just recently got a great tip from my sister-in-laws from Florida, they cut their biscotti with an electric knife! Isn’t that a great idea? I’ll be on the lookout for electric knife for next year to try.

The great thing about biscotti is that they last weeks after you bake them and they taste just as good as the first day, if properly stored. I like to put mine in tin cans layered between wax paper, they stay all nice and crunchy that way!

ANISE BISCOTTI

Ingredients

5 cups unbleached flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of softened butter (2 sticks)
4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon of anise oil, ( that’s correct 1/2 of a teaspoon) or 2 tablespoons of anise extract

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of anise seed

Nuts are optional, I would use at least 1 cup of sliced almonds for this recipe

Directions

Sift dry ingredients together, including the anise seed. Set aside. In a large bowl with a mixer beat butter, sugar, until fluffy, add eggs one at a time along with the anise oil or extract. Add flour mixture and beat on low until blended. Divide mixture into 4 parts. Each part becomes a log measuring around 2 1/2 inches by 9 or 10 inches long. Place logs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 25 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom, check your oven, every one is different.

Remove from the oven and let them cool down on a rack. Carefully cut them 1/2 inch thick, turn each piece straight up for 5 minutes, then 5 more minutes on each side and bake on each side or until lightly golden on each side.

Makes around 60 biscotti depending on size.

If you were to ask me what my personal favorite biscotti was I would have to say it would be this FIG and PISTACHIO version. Dried fig with just a hint of orange and anise flavors the crunchy biscotti that is studded with pistachio’s. You can’t beat this with a warm cup of espresso on the side, every bite is so full of flavor! If you like figs you will love these!

I’ve shared them on my blog before, so if you’re craving these crunchy goodies you can check out the recipe here.

Next up is PUFF COOKIES, I make them every year and I always will, they remind me of my mom and aunt. You’re probably familiar with these almost every nationality has their own version of them, also known as Mexican Wedding cookies, but to me and my family they’ll always be Puff Cookies!

Like puffs of snow these rich and buttery cookies just melt in your mouth, great as a gift in a pretty tin or just placed on a platter for any special occasion, either way they will be most appreciated. I also shared these on my blog way back when I first started blogging, you can find the recipe here.

And finally, I always like to put a new cookie into the mix, well new for me anyway. I’ve tasted RICOTTA COOKIES before but I haven’t ever made them myself until I saw Claudia’s version over at Journey of an Italian Cook. Poor thing she lives in Minnesota and just got hit by that big blizzard recently, stuck in the house she’s been cooking and baking up a storm! (no pun intended). I’m sure her family has been very grateful for the snowfall!

These cookies are truly addictive, the taste and the texture is perfect, not to sweet, just right!

Please, go out and get some ricotta, you still have time to make these and add them to your cookie tray, I promise you won’t regret it!

I’m sending you over to Claudia’s blog to get the recipe, the only thing I changed up was that I doubled the lemon zest in the batter, and then for the glaze, instead of 1 teaspoon of vanilla I did 1 teaspoon of lemon extract and more fresh lemon zest. I had a lemon theme going on and it went wonderful with the ricotta flavor, I will make these over and over again and so will you!

Happy Baking, and Buon Appetito!